Atlantic Huron - The Fastest Two Harbors Docking I've Seen

Here is the Atlantic Huron seen arriving in Two Harbors, Minnesota on the afternoon of April 21, 2024. She was arriving empty to load iron ore pellets (taconite) at the Canadian National dock. The ore was to be delivered to Quebec where it would then be loaded onto another vessel for shipment overseas.

Docking in Two Harbors is somewhat of a delicate dance as ships make their way around the breakwater, then needing to make a sharp pivot to port to line up with the ore dock. Usually this is a good 15-20 minutes (or more) to make the maneuver. Many ships will make the pivot in the open area of the harbor away from the dock, then slowly move in parallel to the dock. The Atlantic Huron took a much more direct approach, pointing her bow straight at the dock. Then, when it appeared she would "t-bone" the dock, she quickly swung her stern around... and there she was, at the dock. I've seen other ships do this type of approach before, but I've never seen one do it so quickly. Admittedly, it's hard to appreciate the speed of the docking by watching this video and comparing with my other Two Harbors videos. The difference is that I've edited out big portions of the docking on those other videos to make them more viewer friendly. I haven't edited out much at all of this docking.

Keen viewers will note that the Atlantic Huron is still sporting collision damage on her bow from an incident that occurred on July 31, 2022 when she collided with the oil/chemical tanker NCC Qamar at the Port of Quebec. It is likely that she will retain this scar for the rest of her career, as her days on the Great Lakes may be soon coming to an end. Canada Steamship Lines has been upgrading most of their fleet with newer vessels that are more fuel efficient and have fewer emissions.

The Atlantic Huron was launched in 1983, originally named the Prairie Harvest. She was part of the Caribbean Class of freighters and was the last straight-decker built for Canada Steamship Lines, though she was later converted to a self-unloader in 1988 to make her more efficient. The Atlantic Huron is 736-feet long and can carry 34,600 tons of cargo in five holds. She is powered by one Sulzer 6-cylinder diesel engine which produces 11,094 bhp, driving a single controllable-pitch propeller.

During her life, she has alternated between a wide variety of cargo runs, working on both the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, hence her name that reflects both types of waters she traveled. She started out hauling grain from ports on the lakes down the seaway. She then worked the phosphate trade from the Gulf States to Mexico and also the iron ore trade down the Orinoco River in Venezuela, transferring cargo to giant ocean freighters. She returning the Great Lakes in the early 90s to haul iron ore between Superior, Wisconsin and Hamilton, Ontario, before shifting again to the Atlantic Ocean to carry salt and aragonite from the Bahamas. During this time, she was caught in the March 15, 1993 storm that was called the "Storm of the Century." The intense rolling from the storm caused significant damage to her engine room and accommodations, but she survived and brought her crew home. This same storm was responsible for the sinking of the ship Gold Bond Conveyor, with a loss of the 33 crew members. (The Gold Bond Conveyor had previously survived the 1991 "Perfect Storm" that was depicted in the movie of the same name.) After being repaired in 1997, the Atlantic Huron again resumed trades on the Great Lakes, hauling a variety of cargoes between ports on the lakes.
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