Hon. James L. Oberstar - Breaking the Rules!

Here is the Hon. James L. Oberstar seen arriving in Duluth, Minnesota on the afternoon of June 5, 2022. She was bringing in a load of limestone to be discharged at the Hallett 5 dock in West Duluth. Limestone, when mixed with raw iron ore, is a key ingredient for making taconite pellets. Taconite is then shipped to the mills elsewhere on the Great Lakes for the manufacture of steel. After discharging her load of limestone, the Oberstar departed Duluth early on the morning of June 6, bound for Marquette, Michigan to take on a load of taconite.

While arriving in the Duluth shipping canal, the Hon. James L. Oberstar treated us to a nice captain's salute, which the bridge answered in kind. As she makes her way through the canal, her prop churns up fish which the seagulls will dive down and grab. Apparently the Oberstar isn't aware that there is a strict rule against feeding seagulls in Duluth's Canal Park! (I'm only joking, of course.) Almost every large ship that transits the canal is followed by a flock of seagulls. The only way to escape them is to run so far away! (All night and day.)

I later caught up with the Oberstar as she rounded Rice's Point. By this point, she had lifted her unloading boom off the deck so the hatch crane could access the hatch covers on the aft end. The hatch crane rolls along rails on the Oberstar's deck and picks up the hatch covers to expose the cargo bays below. While she wasn't taking on a load in Duluth, the hatch covers are still removed to monitor the unloading progress. It also provides access to the cargo holds to wash them out following unloading.

The 806-foot Hon. James L. Oberstar started service in 1959, originally named the Shenango II. From 1967 to 2011, she was named the Charles M. Beeghly as she sailed for Interlake Steamship. In 2011, she was named in honor of the former Congressman from Minnesota who supported Great Lakes shipping and the maritime industry in general. In 2008, her steam turbine was replaced with two Rolls-Royce Marine Bergen 6-cylinder B32:40L6P diesel engines each rated at 4,079 b.h.p. A scrubbing system is in place to remove particulates and pollutants from her exhaust. She can carry up to 31,000 tons of cargo in her five cargo holds. Those holds are accessed by 25 hatches. A gravity-fed conveyor system allows her to unload her own cargo, using a 250-foot unloading boom.

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