Flevogracht - A Rare Master Salute from a Saltie

Here is the saltwater vessel Flevogracht seen departing Duluth, Minnesota on the evening of September 19, 2023. She had arrived earlier in the day, carrying shipping containers loaded in Antwerp, Belgium which were to be off-loaded at the Port Terminal dock. After only 17 hours in port... a short visit for a saltwater ship... she departed in ballast (empty) headed for Chicago to take on another load.

As the Flevogracht made her way through the Duluth shipping canal outbound for Lake Superior, she surprised onlookers with a master salute (three long and two short blasts). While we hear occasional master salutes from the lake freighters, we typically only hear captain's salutes (one long and two short blasts) from saltwater ships... if they choose to salute at all. Perhaps "salute fever" is starting to catch up with the salties, as I am hearing more salties salute this year than I've heard in previous years. Whatever the case, I'm not complaining! (Note: The Aerial Lift Bridge did sound out a salute in response to the Flevogracht, but I was in the process of moving my camera. Plus the salute from the bridge was highly distorted and quite unpleasant on the ears.)

The 448-foot Flevogracht was build in 2011 and sails for Spliethoff shipping based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. She is a general purpose cargo ship capable of both package freight and bulk cargoes, with a carrying capacity of 8,620 metric tons. Three deck-mounted cranes are situated on her starboard side, with a load capacity of 80 metric tons for two of the cranes and 65 metric tons for the third crane. She has an Swedish-Finnish ice class rating of 1A.
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