Musala - Two 90-Year Olds Help a New Ship Across the Harbor

Here is the saltwater ship Musala seen arriving in the Twin Ports of Duluth-Superior on the afternoon of October 29, 2023. The Musala had been sitting at anchor prior to her arrival while she waited for the dock to be ready for her. She was arriving empty (in ballast) to load wheat at the Cenex Harvest States dock #1 in Superior, Wisconsin. The wheat was scheduled for delivery to Gibraltar. The Musula is a newly-built ship and this is apparently only her second trip of her career.

The video starts with the pilot boat Sea Bear delivering a qualified pilot to the Musala for her arrival in port. All ships are required to have pilots certified for the Great Lakes. (The lake carriers generally have qualified pilots as part of their crew, while saltwater ships usually bring a pilot on board for their travels through the lakes.) After receiving the pilot, the Musala made her way in through the Duluth shipping canal, giving us a somewhat unusual (for a saltie) master salute which the Aerial Lift Bridge answered in return. The Musala then met up with the tugboats Missouri and Kentucky, who then assisted her around Rice's Point, under the Blatnik bridge, and into Howard's Bay where the CHS 1 dock is located.

It's always a pleasure to see the 96-year old Missouri and 94-year old Kentucky in action. It was especially nice to see the return of the Missouri after her 5-year inspection and maintenance at Sault Ste. Marie. She is now sporting a fresh coat of green paint on her hull, ready to tackle the next five years of tugging... with her hitting her 100-year old milestone before she's due for her next inspection. I included some radio traffic between the tugs and the Musala during the Canal Park sequence of the video. I had hoped to include some more radio communications off Rice's Point, but the archived recordings were just fairly short read-outs of milestones through the harbor. Plus the transmissions were somewhat garbled and distorted, so they didn't make for the most pleasant listening experience. Ultimately I decided it was more relaxing to just enjoy the natural sounds of the harbor, along with the sounds of the boat engines as work.

The 623-foot saltwater ship Musala was built in 2023. She is a general purpose cargo ship, capable of carrying both bulk cargoes (like grain) or package cargoes (like shipping containers). Her six cargo holds have a total carrying capacity 20,848 tons or a cargo volume for 40,940 cubic meters of grain. Three deck-mounted cranes are available to assist with loading and unloading of package cargo, with each crane having a capacity for 35 tons. The Musala is operated by Navigation Maritime Bulgare Ltd., (aka Navibulgar) based out of Varna, Bulgaria. She sails under the flag of Malta. If the Musala looks somewhat familiar, it may be because her sister ships Verila and Vezhen visited Duluth in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Their arrivals can be seen elsewhere on this channel.

The 88-foot tugboat Missouri was launched in 1927 as the Rogers City. After several changes of owners and names, she was purchased by the Great Lakes Towing Company in 1990 and renamed the Missouri, joining their fleet of tugs named after states. She had previously been converted from steam to diesel in 1981 and is currently powered by a 1 Alco 12-251F diesel engine producing 2,250 bhp. While she can sometimes be seen assisting ships with maneuvering and docking, she is more often seen in winter months with ice-breaking operations.

The 79-foot tugboat Kentucky was built in 1929 by the Great Lakes Towing Company. She was re-powered in 1959 with one Cleveland 12-278A diesel engine producing 1,200 bhp, driving a single 102-inch three-bladed propeller. The Kentucky is mainly seen assisting ships with maneuvering and docking.
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