Algoma Intrepid - 17 Warning Blasts... Plus a Captain's Salute!

A few days ago, I uploaded my first video of the Algoma Innovator arriving in Duluth, Minnesota. Now we get to see her sister ship and fleet mate the Algoma Intrepid departing Superior, Wisconsin on July 20, 2021... following her first ever visit to Superior for a load of iron ore from the Burlington Northern #5 dock. She had arrived via the Duluth entry the day before, fueling at the Husky dock before moving over to the Superior side. The Intrepid had previously made one other visit to the Twin Ports, delivering salt to Duluth in December 2020. (For that visit, she departed Duluth by going backwards under the Aerial Lift Bridge on Christmas Day.) As this was the Intrepid's first visit to Superior, the tugboat Arkansas was on hand to assist, if needed, as the Intrepid backed away from the BN5 dock and made a pivot to head out onto the lake. It turns out the Arkansas wasn't needed, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

While Algoma ships aren't known for being very vocal with their horns when visiting Superior, this departure featured a pretty good workout for the Algoma Intrepid's horn. After making the turn and lining up with the Superior entry, the Intrepid sounded seven short warning blasts. (Usually the sequence for a warning is five blasts, but who's complaining?) The warning was directed at a sailboat that was sitting in the entry area. When the Intrepid passed my position on the pier, she let out the traditional captain's salute of one long and two short blasts. (Thanks guys!) Unfortunately, the sailboat in question still hadn't gotten the message that he was in the way... or close enough to being in the way that it created a hazard. So the Intrepid let loose with a second series of warning blasts... five this time. That still didn't have the desired result, so a third set of five warning blasts was issued. The sailboat did move aside somewhat, but was clearly being a nuisance for shipping traffic that day. It shouldn't take 17 warning blasts to move out of the way!

The 650-foot Algoma Intrepid is an Equinox Class lake carrier built for Algoma Central, delivered in November 2020. The Equinox Class vessels are designed to increase overall operating efficiency by 45% over the older class of vessels that Algoma was operating. The Algoma Innovator is powered by a 11,144hp 5RT-Flex50-D slow speed two-stroke five-cylinder diesel engine driving a single controllable pitch propeller. An exhaust scrubber system reduces emissions by 40% per ton of cargo carried. She has a cargo capacity of 25,000 tons and is fitted with a 260-foot front-mounted self-unloading boom to allow her to discharge her cargo without the need for shore side unloading equipment.

The Algoma Intrepid was the ninth Equinox Class vessel built out of a total planned construction of twelve vessels. Currently, ten Equinox vessels are in service. Five of the vessels are gearless bulk carriers, meaning they have no self-unloading system. They were built in China. Five more vessels were built as self-unloaders, with three have rear mounting self-unloading booms and two having front-mounted self-unloading booms. The rear-mounted self-unloaders were built in China while the front-mounted self-unloaders were built in Croatia. All of the Equinox vessels are 740 feet in length to maximize cargo carrying capacity through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Welland Canal… with the exception of the two front-unloading ships, which are 650-feet in length. The shorter length allows them to operate as “river class” vessels, with the ability to maneuver into tighter ports that the other vessels couldn’t reach. The front-unloaders also allow them to have greater flexibility for unloading.

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