Elmer Engman, our Duluth correspondent, reports that on July 3rd, the AMERICAN SPIRIT was taking on a cargo of taconite at the CN ore dock. A nice day finally in the Duluth harbor.

The AMERICAN SPIRIT made local news in June 17, 2018, when she missed the turn into the Duluth ship canal and ran aground to the left of the bridge and stopped less than 20 feet from the sea wall. That brought a lot of people down to have a look. 

She was able to back off by herself and after a hull inspection she left the next day.

Just a few hours earlier, on the 17th, the old AMERICAN VICTORY, ex MIDDLETOWN left the harbor under tow to a scrap yard in Turkey.

Sometimes it seems a ship can develop a life of their own and it makes you wonder if she found a way to get even.

Happy 4th of July.

Photos by Elmer Engman

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Elmer Engman is a long time resident of the Duluth area. He started scuba diving in 1968, because of an interest in maritime history, and wrote the first dive guide for the area called, Shipwreck Guide to the Western Half of Lake Superior. He is a past board member of the SS Meteor Maritime Museum and the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. He is also the founder of the Maritime history program called “Gales of November”. This will be the 38th of the program held on the second weekend in November.