Bob Thibaudeau early Wednesday morning eased the Paul R. Tregurtha into northern Michigan's Soo Locks slowly, slowly like a driver inching a monster truck into a crowded mall. Paul R Tregurtha departed Duluth early this morning. He generally works 60 days, then takes off for 30. Powered by. duluthharborcam.com. The completed hull No. And they are proud of their ability to succeed. The Kempfs won the trip in an auction benefiting the March of Dimes this past winter. "Everybody I've talked to has said it's a trip of a lifetime and I have to agree with that," the Fort Gratiot man said from aboard the Paul R. Tregurtha Thursday. When they are on board, they work seven days a week. for nearly fifteen years, first as an associate and then as a full partner. The Interlake Steamship Company was given a contract in 1979 by its customer Republic Steel, to transport iron ore from Lake Superior ports to their steel mill at Indiana Harbor, or to their transshipment terminal at Lorain.[1]. Paul R. Tregurtha, born 1935, was the Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Company's Board. [2], At around 3 a.m. on August 15, 2012, as she was proceeding downbound with 62,000 tons of coal, the bow of MV Paul R. Tregurtha grounded in the outbound channel of St. Marys River, just north of the Neebish Island ferry crossing, near Sault Ste. He worked his way up through the officer ranks, and has at one time or another piloted each of Interlake's working ships. "They're home having a good time and you're just here.''. He listened to mates on the deck and issued directions to the wheelman. [5], Last edited on 18 December 2022, at 12:01, "1,000-foot coal freighter stuck in St. Marys River", "Salvage Experts Refloat Grounded Vessel in St. Marys River", "1,000-foot Laker Stuck near Bayfront Park", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MV_Paul_R._Tregurtha&oldid=1128108016, August 7, 1982: 63,007 long tons (64,018t) load at. "It does suck not being there for all the good times," said the man they call El Dirty. Fair winds and following seas. Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. He has served as Chairman of Mormac Marine Group, Inc., since 1998. Interlake wishes Captain Tim Dayton all the best as he departs the M/V Paul R Tregurtha for the last time as Captain. "I've lived here all my 60-plus years and watched plenty of boat traffic come and go, but I had no idea what was truly involved in keeping a vessel like this running," he said. Or worse. As we entered the western basin of Lake Erie, there was algae in the water Captain Johnson says the algae causes problems for more than just our drinking water, "It creates quite a drag. We don't have a meal plan per say. It is fascinating to see something so large moving so effortlessly through the lakes. hb```%,@% @cF&>nT. Loading 43,000 net tons in Conneaut, Ohio, both United States and Canadian Coast Guard services provided ice breaking assistance so that the voyage was completed without any delays. 0000000891 00000 n His previous roles with the company include vice president of Industrial Relations and Government Affairs, Director of Human Resources & Industrial Relations and Director of Marine Personnel. She also has a dog. 0000005509 00000 n On another boat, the cook who dubbed Perkins "El Dirty" would hand him garbage bags to line his chair before he sat down to eat. July 20, 1983: broke the Lorain port record delivering 61,846 long tons (62,838t) of iron ore pellets from Escanaba. Freighter life does have challenges, though, and when there are normal, everyday disagreements, there is no escape. (But) you gotta be very fair with people you're dealing with.". My wife deserves better than that, so that's why I come up here and I do this.". Clair Power Plant at Recors Point, East China, Michigan. They'll be using the hashtag: #FreighterLife. She is truly an engineering marvel. Of the 13 "footers" on the Great Lakes a nickname for the 1,000-foot boats the Paul R. Tregurtha is the longest. Find stories from the journey on freep.com, at @freep on Twitter and on the Detroit Free Press Facebook page. The Paul R. Tregurtha is one of the most popular vessels on the Great Lakes. Bob Thibaudeau of the Paul R. Tregurtha freighter takes the largest freighter on the Great Lakes (at 1,013 feet long) through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. A lot of people can't cut it, but to me it's much more than just a paycheck. He works in a tunnel where he can see the coal filtering down through the gates like water to an unplugged drain. 0:04. For many on the crew of the Paul R. Tregurtha it had been a long and difficult week and the reality of life without Captain Hallin was slowly beginning to sink in. Tom is an active member of Interlakes Incident Response and Management Team, in which he serves critical legal and operations roles, is a Qualified Individual (OPA 90) and is trained as an Incident Commander/On-scene Coordinator. After Free Press journalists disembark his boat this weekend, Thibaudeau is due a long vacation. Main: 440-260-6900 "I grew up on a farm; I've always been dirty. ELRICK. "It worked out great for me.". Capable of unloading at a rate of 10,000 long tons of iron ore per hour, or 6,000 net tons of coal per hour, the total system displaces 14,497 tons.[1]. The coal gets there through gates that are opened at the bottom of the cargo hatches, which are above where he works. Officers start around $90,000. The Paul R. Tregurtha is known as the "Queen of the Lakes." . At the Soo, it doesn't get any tighter than this. That means learning on the job, rather than earning a maritime license from an academy. ", Captain Johnson has worked on the lakes for decades. [1] In 1990 she received her current name. Prior to the purchase of Interlake, Mr. Barker was Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Moore McCormack Resources, a position he held since joining the company in 1971. On Sunday morning, Perkins was up early as the boat nestled against the dock at a power plant in East China Township to dump half its load of coal for DTE; the other half goes to Monroe today. ", And there's a lot of engineering that goes into moving the cargo from ship to shore. A handful of area fundraisers offertrips on the freighter, including the United Way of St. Clair County. The pilot house that's the brains of the ship making everything go. She is more than 1,000 feet long and more than 100 feet wide and these cargo holds can carry tens of thousands of tons of cargo in a single trip. Brendan P. OConnor is Vice President of Marketing and Marine Traffic at The Interlake Steamship Company, the largest privately held shipping company on the Great Lakes. Bob Thibaudeau early Wednesday morning eased the Paul R. Tregurtha into northern Michigan's Soo Locks slowly, slowly like a driver inching a monster truck into a crowded mall parking space. We're just like a big family on a boat.". US Coast Guard Documentation and Licensing. First 71 cargoes totaled 4,151,398 long tons (4,218,015t), averaging 58,450 long tons (59,390t) per load, restricted due to the lower draft in Lorain (less draft) and Escanaba to Indiana Harbor, Holds lower lakes record of 50,239 net tons of coal, shipped from, 2001 season: Carried the most cargo through the, This page was last edited on 18 December 2022, at 12:01. 0000004316 00000 n Posted by duluthharborcam at 7:21 AM Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest 4 comments: De Lancey, she was the last of the thirteen "thousand footers" to enter service on the Great Lakes, and was also the last Great Lakes vessel built at the American Ship Building Company yard in Lorain, Ohio. Phil Moore is Vice President of Engineering at The Interlake Steamship Company, the largest privately held shipping company on the Great Lakes. ", In addition to bad weather, the ship's can also be affected by what;s in the lake. As Interlakes Vice President of Engineering, Phil oversees all of the day-to-day engineering processes for the fleet and the associated fleet maintenance, repairs and upgrades, dry-docking, as well as regulatory compliance, engineering budgets and general oversight of engineering personnel both aboard ship and shore side. This move not only was made in the dark, but in reverse for more than four miles while lightning flashed and the wind whipsawed. That system moves through the ship and out onto the boom . Instead, there is satellite TV in every room. The ship and crew work around the clock, running day and night. If there's an emergency, he can escape climbing a ladder straight up 52 feet to the deck. A trip on a freighter will also be raffled off. She then established a lower lakes record by loading 50,239 long tons (51,045t) net tons of coal from Ashtabula to Consumers Power, becoming the largest cargo loaded on the lower Great Lakes. This enabled salvage experts to successfully raise the ship's bow by filling stern voids which reduced the amount of forward weight on the rocks, and hence refloat the vessel. In 1975, Mr. Barker was named Outstanding Chief Executive for Transportation by Financial World. At more than three football fields long, not only is the ship's size impressive, but so is her workload. Paul R. Tregurtha, Vice-Chairman Since joining forces with James R. Barker to purchase and reinvigorate The Interlake Steamship Company in 1987, Mr. Tregurtha has actively served as Vice Chairman. Interlake allows family visits to cut the stress of being away. 0000002601 00000 n Jan A.A. van Lier, president of the firm's ocean bulk transport. Her unloading system and 260-foot boom empty her five cargo holds in about eight hours. William M. Thornton is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Interlake Steamship Company, the largest privately held shipping company on the Great Lakes. We often carry passengers and guests, so we like to step our menu up a notch a lot. "I've been gone from my family for a long time," he said. Captains make $160,000 to $200,000, according to Glenn Kolke, marine personnel manager for Interlake. And he likes chatting with them and spreading his love of the lakes. It drops onto the belt, which then whisks it up out of the ship, through a boom stretched to a silo on land. Staff writer Jim Schaefer and staff photographer Eric Seals invite you to share their journey aboard the Paul R. Tregurtha, the longest ship on the Great Lakes. The engine room is the blood of the ship, making everything work. In the pilot house high above the water, mates and wheelsman help navigate around the clock. US Coast Guard Documentation and Licensing. Chrissy Kadleck is with Interlake Steamship, the owner of the Tregurtha, "She can hold up to 70,000 tons in one trip which over a season adds up to millions and millions of tons of cargo. Longtime owner of . All rights reserved. I thought how cool would that be to work on one. This week, take a ride with freep.com on a real Great Lakes freighter. Burgett said after boarding in St. Clair where the ship was offloading coal, they continued to Monroe where more coal was offloaded. There are a few incredible raffle prizes, including $10,000 in cash. She arrived back in Lorain on May 16, 1981. It is the biggest ship sailing the lakes today. Eric Seals will be posting @ericseals on Twitter and Instagram . ", The menu while we were on board was impressive,"We're serving prime rib, sea scallops in butter Parmesan sauce and a chicken Parmesan breast. In 2015, Tom was recognized and honored by Crains Cleveland Business as one of the outstanding legal minds in Northeast Ohio. With another 1000 footer, AMERICAN CENTURY, needing a little more time to finish her coal offload, PRT swung around downriver to wait in sequence. at 1,010 feet long, she's bigger than three football fields laid end to end. In addition, he has been Chairman of Moran Towing Corp. since 1994 and Chief Executive Officer since 1998. UTC. "They actually assign to the guests a porter, an individual who looks after us, keeps us advised She's constanly bringing us plates of goodies," Randy Burgett said Thursday from the ship. And she can hit hard, with things like fog and thunder storms in the summer, and thick ice in the winter. That program recounts how in 2008, while leaving Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, MV Paul R. Tregurtha got stuck in ice and cracked steel plating on the port side of her bow, causing ballast tank water to leak out. 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