Nice Video of the Mark Barker in Duluth MN at Night.
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1,802 views Dec 11, 2022
Here is the Mark W. Barker, making her third-ever visit to Duluth, Minnesota before sunrise on November 14, 2022. She was visiting to load taconite pellets at the Canadian National dock in West Duluth, which she was scheduled to deliver to Cleveland, Ohio. We first see her enter the Duluth shipping canal in almost complete darkness of night. As she makes her way through the canal, she sounds a wakeup captain's salute for the residents of Duluth... with the Aerial Lift Bridge joining in the fun shortly afterwards. After watching the Mark W. Barker pass under the Aerial Lift Bridge and cross the outer harbor, I then met up with her again at Rice's Point. We see her pass by the Federal Katsura unloading bulk cement at the CRH dock before she passes under the John A. Blatnik bridge and proceeds off across the St. Louis River Bay on her way to the CN. The final shot of the video shows what appears to an approaching "fog" beyond the Mark W. Barker, but in reality it was an approaching snow storm quickly making its way into Duluth. By the time I walked back to my car, the snow was falling steadily across Duluth. The 639-foot Mark W. Barker was constructed in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and launched in the Spring of 2022, making her the first newly-built American lake freighter since 1983. She made her first sea trials under her own power on July 1, 2022. She is the first "River Class" freighter, meaning she is designed to navigate rivers such as the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland. She is powered by two 8,000 horsepower, 16-cylinder EMD diesel engines which drive a single 18-foot, four-blade, controllable-pitch propeller. She has 1,000-hp Kongsberg bow and stern thrusters, which help her navigate tight waterways without the need for tugboat assistance. Her hull has been optimized for efficiency and all systems have been designed to ensure low energy consumption. A Kongsberg high-lift rudder optimizes the wake through the propeller. Her cargo hold has capacity for 26,000 tons and she has a front-mounted self-unloading boom. She has five hydraulically controlled stackable MacGregor hatches, which are more commonly seen on ocean-going ships. She also has a flat-bottomed cargo hold, which means can carry both bulk cargo including salt, iron ore, and limestone, but can also carry package or project cargo, such as wind turbine blades. The Mark W. Barker is named after the current president of Interlake Steamship Company. He is also the son of James and Kaye Barker, who also have vessels named after them.