Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA left Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding the night of April 18th. The vessel went out of Sturgeon Bay, out the bay of Green Bay, around Chambers Island and out Rock Island passage. Its destination is Superior, Wis., for its first load of taconite for the season.
The TREGURTHA has been the Queen of the Lakes from its christening as the WILLIAM J. DeLANCEY on April 25, 1981. The vessel was re-christened May 25, 1990, as the PAUL R. TREGURTHA, in Sturgeon Bay at Bay Shipbuilding in honor of Chairman and CEO of Interlake Steamship Co.
Specifications:
Length 1013 feet
Beam (width) 105 feet
Depth 56 feet
Capacity 78,850 tons
Power 2 MaK 6M43C 8620 horsepower diesel engines turning two propellers and a bow thruster
Self-Unloading rate 10,000 tons per hour
Watch for arrivals of the next Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Winter fleet December in 2025. The Winter fleet can be viewed from either side of the bay and be sure to get the spectacular view from the Door County Maritime Museum Lighthouse Tower.
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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 September 23, 2018
