Tom Wenstadt our Door County correspondent reports that the integrated tug barge DOROTHY ANN/PATHFINDER arrived at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding outer dock through the bay of Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay the morning of June 22nd. Presently the DOROTHY ANN is in one of the floating drydocks, while the PATHFINDER is moored at the frontage dock.

The articulated pusher tug DOROTHY ANN was built by Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., for Interlake Steam Ship Co. in 1999.                 

The barge PATHFINDER was built as the bulk carrier J.L. MAUTHE by Great Lakes Engineering Works in 1953 for Interlake Steamship Co. The vessel was converted to a self-unloading articulating barge by Bay Shipbuilding in 1998 and named PATHFINDER.

Specifications:

            Length           700 feet

            Beam (width) 70 feet

            Depth             36 feet

            Capacity        26,700 tons

            Power             2  3,600 horsepower GM EMD-20-645 diesel engines with Z-drives

Look for an aft pilot house on the tug, aft self-unloading boom with iron hulls and white upper paint. Also look for the distinguishing black funnels with orange stripes.

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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.

Photos by Bob Kuhn.

PATHFINDER dated September 2017

DOROTHY ANN dated November 2015

This story was originally posted on June 29, 2024.