Edgar B. Speer - Jumping the Line in Two Harbors

Here is the Edgar B. Speer seen arriving in Two Harbors, Minnesota on the morning of July 21, 2021 shortly after the departure of the CSL St. Laurent, seen in the previous video. The Speer was in Two Harbors to pick up iron ore from the Canadian National dock, which is the only dock in Two Harbors for lake freighter traffic.

Early in the video, we see the Edgar B. Speer and CSL St. Laurent pass each outside the harbor. I cheated a little and re-used the footage from my earlier video of the St. Laurent meeting the Speer... but I figured it was worth seeing again, especially for those who didn't watch the earlier video. We also see the Speer pass the Spruceglen, another CSL ship that was sitting at anchor waiting for her turn to load. The Spruceglen had been there for some time ahead of the Speer, but apparently she was behind the Speer on the loading priority list. Since Canadian National owns both the dock and the Speer (which is operated by the Great Lakes Fleet), priority might go to their own ships first and they get to jump the line. Or the Speer was simply scheduled to load ahead of the Spruceglen, regardless of when she arrived.

Unfortunately, the Speer didn't provide us with a salute upon entry to Two Harbors. Normally she is always good for a salute when we see her in Duluth, but there were not many people on hand to watch her arrival into Two Harbors. Also, entry and docking in Two Harbors can be somewhat tricky... so they likely had other priorities in mind during arrival.

The 1004-foot Edgar B. Speer was launched in 1980. She is powered by two Pielstick V-18 cylinder 9630 horsepower diesel engines driving 2 controllable pitch propellers. She can carry up to 73,700 tons of cargo in 5 cargo holds that are accessed by 20 deck hatches. Her self-unloading system consists of a 52-foot shuttle boom mounted in front of the pilot house. The boom can extend out over both sides of the ship. While this unloading system is much more compact and results in less clutter on her deck, this system also restricts her to carrying only iron ore pellets (taconite). In contrast, most of the other 1000-footers on the lakes can also carry coal.

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