Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the M/V JAMES R. BARKER arrived at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Wednesday, October 16th (2024). The BARKER was assisted by the tug DONALD J. SARTER and is docked next to the FBS graving dock.
The BARKER was christened August 7, 1976, at the American Shipbuilding yard in Lorain, Ohio, for the Interlake Steamship Co. for whom she sails today. She was the first 1000 footer to be built with its pilot house aft.
She suffered an engine room fire in October of 1986 on Lake Huron. The fire was put out by on board equipment. The BARKER was towed side by side by its sister ship the WILLIAM J. DeLANCEY for repairs at Bay Shipbuilding.
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
Come see this 1004-footer at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Look for a long iron ore colored hull and an iron ore colored unloading boom with a white pilot house. Be sure to get a spectacular view from the Door County Maritime Museum Lighthouse Tower where you can also check out the shipyard’s two new big buildings that are being used for the construction of large subassemblies for new US Navy Frigates. The vessels are being built across the bay by Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin.
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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 Bob Kuhn: JAMES R. BARKER dated March 15, 2020
