Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the M/V JOSEPH L. BLOCK departed Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Wednesday evening, April 16th. The BLOCK went out Sturgeon Bay, up the bay of Green Bay and out into Lake Michigan. The vessel headed for the Straits of Mackinac and ultimately to the port of Duluth, Minn., for its first load of taconite for the season.
The BLOCK was christened June 29, 1976, at Bay Shipbuilding. The vessel’s name came from the Chairman of the Board of the owner, Inland Steel Co. She has carried her name though-out her life and has been owned and operated by Indiana Harbor Steamship Co. and Central Marine Logistics Inc. of Highland, Indiana, respectively since July, 1999. Unfortunately, the JOSEPH L. BLOCK has had a rough career suffering a number of engine problems as well as hull damage from groundings and ice. However, after 45 years of battling the Great Lakes, the BLOCK continues to serve its owner.
Specifications:
Length 728 feet
Beam (width) 78 feet
Depth 45 feet
Capacity 37,200 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
Look for an aft pilot house and an aft self-unloading boom with an iron ore red hull, white upper works and gray accent strips.
Watch for arrivals of the next Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding winter fleet 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 Bob Kuhn dated October 7, 2016
