Presque Isle - An Unusual View of a Most Unusual Ship
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
- Here is the 1000-footer Presque Isle seen arriving and docking in Duluth, Minnesota on the evening of May 17, 2024. She had loaded taconite pellets at Two Harbors, Minnesota earlier in the day. But instead of heading to Indiana Harbor, Indiana to offload the pellets as scheduled, she made a 2-hour detour to Duluth. Apparently she needed some quick repairs completed at Port Terminal before she could continue with her journey. (I was told it was possibly a generator that needed repairing.) On her way in through the Duluth shipping canal, the crew were obviously in a good mood despite this unplanned stop. The Presque Isle sounded out four captain's salutes. The first salute received a response from the Aerial Lift Bridge.
Many aspects of this arrival were unusual. Besides being an unusual ship in itself as the only 1000-foot tug-and-barge combination, the Presque Isle isn't a frequent visitor to Duluth, even when the visits are planned. She usually only visits Duluth a few times a year. Second, it's unusual to see a 1000-footer arrive fully loaded through the shipping canal, sitting so low in the water. Almost all of the 1000-footers arrive empty to take on taconite or coal. Third, it's rare to get such a good front-on view of the Presque Isle as she docks. Usually she loads at Two Harbors, where such a view is reserved only for the dock workers. Seeing the Presque Isle from this angle... and seeing the crew using the bosun's chair... is a rare opportunity that I'm glad I could capture.
The repairs to the Presque Isle fortunately didn't take very long, as she was making her way out through the Duluth shipping canal about six hours later. I was there to capture the sight, but that will be another video for another day!
The 1000-foot Presque Isle entered service in 1973. She is the only one of the thirteen 1000-footers on the Great Lakes that is a tug-and-barge combination, making her unique among ships of this size. The barge is the cargo section capable of carrying up to 57,500 tons of cargo. The tug section contains the engines, pilot house, and living quarters for the crew. Both sections are named Presque Isle, as both were built to only operate with each other, despite their ability to separate. Separating allows the tug section to get fueled or serviced on its own, without the need to bring along the cargo section. In practice, however, it appears they rarely separate except under rare circumstances. All remaining 1000-footers built after the Presque Isle are self-contained ships, with the engines, living quarters, bridge, and cargo section contained within one hull.
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Donations of any size are gratefully accepted, as they help offset my travel expenses to capture this footage. Your views, likes, comments, and subscriptions also help this channel and are greatly appreciated. Thank you! - Авто та транспорт
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Donations of any size are gratefully accepted and are used to cover expenses for my trips to Duluth. Your views, likes, and comments are also greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I love it when the sailors come out and wave to the crowd. Beautiful ship 🚢
Whoa! She is looooaded! Wow, she is sitting low in the water.
Another fantastic catch with great camera views and info from you. Thank you - 👍
Thanks BL! 🙂
Loaded to the gills!!!
What a unique ship. Thank you for the video.
Thanks for watching!
As usual a beautiful video. I enjoyed all the mini salutes and then realized the vessel is a home town hero.
Thank you!
I wonder if Presque Isle was an experiment to test the usefulness of a thousand foot tug and barge combo. Guess it worked well enough for Presque Isle, but future tug and barge sets worked better when the barge is under a thousand feet. It's an interesting note in the thousand footer story that pairs well with the other oddity in the fleet, the Stewart J. Cort.
Tug boats can operate with smaller crews, so the Presque Isle was designed for a smaller crew. But then the Coast Guard determined that the tug was too unstable to operate without the barge (except in limited situations), so they had to shoehorn a full crew into a tug designed for a smaller crew. That’s probably why they didn’t build another 1000-foot tug/barge.
@@1Long2Shortwonder what made the Coast Guard determine Presque Isle's tug was too unstable to operate without the barge, excluding limited situations? It seems to have affected other tug and barge sets as well.
I’m not sure how they determined it, but it looks very top heavy and unstable when it’s not connected to the barge. It looks like it would roll over if it encountered a small wave. The newer tugs look much more stable, no doubt learning some lessons from the Presque Isle design. 😉
@1Long2Short I was thinking that might be the case. So Presque Isle: not so good as a tug, but a winning combo when attached to its barge. Just be prepared to rub shoulders with your fellow crewmen, and no complaining! 😉
It sounds like most crew share rooms with others, while crew on other boats usually have their own rooms.
Stunning video.
Thank you! 🙂
Thanks for this video (and the comments). This ship was the first Great Lakes ship I ever saw. But I saw it at Conneaut OH! In June, 2018, I drove to Portland ME to visit an old college friend and his partner. Took two nights to get there stopping at Niagra Falls and the Baseball Hall of Fame. First night slepy in Conneaut, OH. Drove to the lake to get BBQ at Smoke on the Water. Took the BBQ closer to the lake to eat. The Presque Isle started her docking maneuvers while I watched. What intrigued me greatly is that she was backing into the Puttsburgh & Conneaut Dock. It was difficult to figure out what she was doing. I noticed an elderly gentleman also sitting & watching so I approached him and asked him if he was from the area and if so did he know what the ship was doing. Not only was he from the area, he was retired from 30 years working on Great Lakes ships and he'd served on the Presque Isle! He explained why she was backing into the docks (easier to back in than back out) and her tug+barge design. Could hardly have asked for a more fortunate encounter. I still have a few images from that day. Your video brought all that back to mind 😊
I’ve run into a few old timers watching ships. More often than not, they are former crew members. 🙂
Nice catch, I've never seen one loaded or sitting that low in the water / channel !
Thanks! Yes, it’s odd to see a 1000-footer arriving fully loaded.
That’s a huge taunt taunt boat! Great video!
Thanks! 🙂
you're right - a very unique style of ship. The tug-barge thing still cracks me up, but I guess it works. :)
That was amazing. That barge sure is broad in the beam. Must be a delicate operation slipping her and the tug through the lock systems. Really nice piece.
Love the Presque Isle! Nice video! Still miss seeing it in its' original Litton fleet colors, though.
Thanks William!
Beautiful ship
I am amazed that this fits in the SOO Locks!!!
Just enough room!
This is a wonderful video, she looks hugely WIDE compared to other ships or is just an optical illusion? I will never tire of seeing the men swing over the ship's side to the dock, what a great thing that is! It really makes me wonder about the barge/tug combination...it doesn't seem possible that a tug could really navigate that huge thing. wow~ and thank you
Thanks Lisa! The Presque Isle’s bow doesn’t stand as high out of the water, creating the illusion that she is wider. It looks doubly wide when fully loaded and viewed head-on. 🙂 The engines in the tug are as strong as the engines in most of the other 1000 footers. She’s a mighty beast of a tug!
@@1Long2Short thanks for that explanation. I can't wait for the day I can come up to Duluth and see these monsters for myself! Enjoy your adventures!
You will have a great time when you come! 🙂
Very cool! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Wow that's a low bow !
❤great footage
Many tug and barge combo's on the East River New York.
Sailors have more fun.
Very good video! Does the tug ride at the same level all the time or does it ride higher when the barge is empty?
Good question. I’ll need to compare with previous videos to see.
The tug fits into a slot in the barge and is locked in place.
The tug moves up and down the same as the barge whether loaded or empty.
Hey! It’s nice to see that your back to uploading, just wanted to say that your videos are sweet, and I also have a question, what type of camera do you use in these videos?
Thank you! I’m currently using a Nikon D6 II with a 24-200mm zoom lens. Nothing too fancy!
What is being shipped into Duluth? Ice cubes? I thought everything went out as iron ore from the Mesabi. That’s a lot of bunker oil if that’s what it is.
Details are provided in the video description. 🙂
I know absolutely nothing about ships, but this design looks like it wouldn’t be very stable in bad weather.
My son Sam, absolutely loves watching your videos! He was wondering what the round plaques (attached to the upper deck railings @3:10 ) were for? Do you know?
Tell your son thank you for watching! 🙂 The round plaques are meant to be Viking shields. Each crew member got to create their own. The other side of the pilot house has more for the rest of the crew.
I guess that we DON'T need a bigger boat.
You would see her without her barge. It’s the nautical equivalent of the short bus. Still has plenty of windows to lick though...
I’ve seen photos of the tug on its own, but never in person. Maybe someday.
I've never understood how this design has any significant advantages.
Apparently it didn’t. They never built another 1000-foot tug-barge combo.
What is the purpose of the two different horns?
The second set of horns was the lift bridge returning the salute from the ship.
Where is the IMO Nr??
what is the beam of that ship?
105 feet
It’s an unpowered barge, the stern is a pusher tug boat
As mentioned in the video description 😉
It's a barge and a tug, not a ship.
Tugs and barges are types of ships 🙂
Would somebody with more nautical savvy explain some advantages to the tug/ship thing? Was it just an experiment that wound up with no real advantage?
Tugs can usually operate with smaller crews than standard ships. (That wasn’t the case with the Presque Isle,however.) Also, it was thought that there would be more versatility by allowing tugs to separate for fueling, maintenance, or other cargo runs with other barges while a barge was being loaded/unloaded. In practice, that hasn’t really occurred, but newer tug-barge combos do operate with smaller crews… so there is a cost savings.
@@1Long2Short Thanks for the info! I had wondered about the size of the crew, but it seemed the same number would need needed for a thousand foot vessel whether the engine and quarters were attached or not. Thanks again!
I may not be 100% correct, but I think the requirements for crew size are based on the size of the powered vessel… in this case the tug. But the Coast Guard examined the tug and deemed that it was too unstable to operate safely on its own out on the lakes. Therefore the crew size requirement was based on the tug being attached to the barge. They had to squeeze the full-sized crew into accommodations designed for a reduced-sized crew. I saw an interview with someone who was a former cook on the Presque Isle and they said the galley is tiny, making it difficult to serve the size of meals required.
The train horn said hello back...........
That’s the Aerial Lift Bridge saluting back. 🙂
Oh ok thanks.........
I swear i could just smell diesel fumes
I swear I can still smell them! 😁
she is T H I C C
Sailors have more fun.