Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that another ship arrived for winter layup. 

The M/V AMERICAN MARINER arrived at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, this morning January 22, 2024. The vessel came into the bay of Green Bay through Rock Island Passage, pivoted at the mouth of Sturgeon Bay, then backed the six miles up the bay to the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding yard.

The AMERICAN MARINER was built by Bay Shipbuilding for the American Steamship Co. of Buffalo, New York. The vessel was launched August 2, 1979, and left on its maiden voyage April 18, 1980. The vessel has had few accidents.  However, on April 28, 2000, the vessel’s steering failed causing a significant collision with a channel marker light tower just north of Port Huron doing considerable damage to its bow.  It took a day and a half to clear the channel for numerous other vessels to pass.  After repairs at Toledo Ship Repair, she continued to serve its owner.

Specifications:

            Length           730 feet

            Beam (width) 78 feet

            Depth             45 feet

            Capacity        37,300 tons

            Power             2  3600 horsepower EMD V20 diesel engines turning one propeller and bow and stern thrusters

            Self-Unloading rate 6,000 tons per hour

The winter fleet can be viewed at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin with viewing spots on both sides of the bay. Be sure to view the winter fleet from the Lighthouse Tower at the Door County Maritime Museum. Look for an aft pilot house, aft self-unloading boom with a black hull and white upper paint.  The M/V AMERICAN MARINER is docked along the outer wall. Also check out the two large assembly buildings at the south end of the yard. They are being used to fabricate subassemblies for a new series of US Navy frigates. The subassemblies will be barged across Green Bay to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine yard for final assembly and launch.

Photo of AMERICAN MARINER is by Bob Kuhn and dated December 28, 2019.

This story was originally posted on January 22, 2024.

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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.