Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the M/V MESABI MINER departed at noon Saturday, April 12th, from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. It proceeded out Sturgeon Bay, up Green Bay, around Chambers Island then through Rock Island Passage into Lake Michigan. The vessel is headed for its first load of taconite in Duluth, Minn.
The MESABI MINER was built in three sections. The mid body was built at the American Shipbuilding yard in Toledo, Ohio, then towed to the American Shipbuilding Lorain, Ohio yard for assembly to the bow and stern sections. The MINER was launched on February 14, 1977, for the Interlake Steamship Co. for whom she sails today. Her name was given to honor all of the dedicated iron miners in the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota.
The MESABI MINER has set a number of cargo records for both iron ore as well as coal.
Specifications:
Length 1004 feet
Beam (width) 105 feet
Depth 56 feet
Capacity 63,300 tons
Power 2 Pielstick V16 8000 horsepower diesel engines turning two propellers and a bow thruster
Self-Unloading rate 10,000 tons per hour
Be sure to check out the next winter fleet at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in December 2025.
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Tom Wenstadt, who lives in Sturgeon Bay, is a retired marine engineer, having worked in the Great Lakes area for thirty-seven years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University and is the author of Freighters of Manitowoc. He is a member of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society and the Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society. He is a volunteer archival assistant and docent for the JOHN PURVES.
Photo by Chuck Sterba dated September 1, 2003 at Port Huron
