Lee A. Tregurtha - Arrival, Docking, and Unloading

NOTE: This video is a little longer than usual because it not only covers the ship's arrival, but also captures her docking and (starting of the) unloading process. While the YouTube algorithm tells me that most people only watch the first three minutes of every video, hopefully some of you will find it worth your time to stick around to the end!

Here is the Lee A. Tregurtha arriving in Duluth-Superior on the morning of July 20, 2021 to unload limestone at the Graymont dock in Superior. The video starts with Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge lifting to its maximum height of 135-feet to allow for the entry of the Tregurtha. We then see her making her way through the canal, exchanging a captain's salute with the lift bridge. The Tregurtha then makes her way across the harbor to the Superior side, where I caught up with her at Connor's Point as she raced with the Canadian geese. I then moved over to the Graymont dock to watch her pull up, tie up to the dock, extend her self-unloading boom, and begin to discharge limestone.

While watching the footage, you will note a few things. Click the time stamps to forward to these points in the video, if interested:

7:32 The puffs of black smoke from the bow section of the Tregurtha are from her diesel-powered bow thruster, which helps her to maneuver in port without the need for tugboat assistance.

8:22 Crew members are seen riding the bosun's chair from the Tregurtha down to the dock level. This rapid method of putting crew members on shore is to allow them to secure lines to the dock. Once tied up, the ship usually extends stairs down to the dock for other crew members to come and go more easily.

9:10 The self-unloading boom was extended over the dock and the conveyor was belt run briefly to clean out any debris leftover in the system before unloading began.

10:24 The first stream of limestone makes it way out of the self-unloading boom, onto the pile at Graymont. The initial stream of limestone is fairly light, but picks up to full speed within a few minutes.

11:00 The deck crane removes a hatch cover from one of the Tregurtha's 24 hatches. Removing the hatches allows for crews to monitor the unloading and clean out the holds as needed.

After six hours, the Tregurtha has completed unloading operations and departed the Twin Ports through the Superior entry. Normally I would have attempted to be on hand to catch her departure, but I was on the Duluth side to capture the arrival of her fleet mate, the Kaye E. Barker!

The Lee A. Tregurtha has a long history, serving various roles under various names over the years. Launched in 1942, she went into service as an oiler for the U.S. Navy under the name USS Chiwawa. In March 1943, she was part of a convoy of 45 ships, including destroyers and merchant ships, that was attacked by 17 German U-Boats. Five ships in the convoy were sunk. The USS Chiwawa was awarded a Battle Star for her actions, something she still wears on her pilot house today. After the war, she continued to serve as an oil tanker in private hands until she was purchased by Cleveland Cliffs in 1960 and converted to a lake carrier named the Walter A. Sterling, with a new mid-body section that expanded her length from 501 feet to 726 feet. Another lengthening occurred in 1976, giving her the current length of 826 feet. Another retrofit in 1978 converted her into a self-unloader. She can currently carry 29,360 tons of cargo in her five cargo holds which are accessed by 24 hatches. She was acquired by Interlake Steamship in 1989 and converted from steam in 2006 to be powered by two Rolls Royce Bergen B32-40L6P medium speed 6 cylinder 4,020 b.h.p. (3,000 KW) diesel engines burning heavy fuel oil. While many miss her old steam whistle, the conversion to diesel will hopefully ensure she has many more years left of service on the Great Lakes.

One final note... you might be tempted to believe that you're seeing "fog" in the air during this video, especially as this was an early morning arrival when fog is often present. What you're actually seeing is smoke from the wildfires that were taking place in Canada when this was recorded. The smoke laid thick over the harbor for most of the morning, lifting somewhat as the day went along and winds picked up a little. I recorded several boat passages during the July 20-21 period which I will be uploading here over the coming days. If you see anything in these upcoming videos that gives them a somewhat foggy or hazy appearance, you'll know that it's smoke from the fires.

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