American Century and Edward H. - Lights, Camera, Action... and Salutes!

Here is the American Century seen departing the twin ports of Duluth and Superior late in the evening of December 30, 2021. She had picked up a load of low sulfur coal from the Superior Midwest Energy Terminal (SMET) in Superior, Wisconsin and was bound to deliver them to power plant at St. Clair, Michigan.

The video starts as the American Century has just pulled away from the SMET dock and makes her way under the John A. Blatnik bridge at Rice's Point. The tugboat Edward H was on hand to assist with breaking up ice and can be seen alongside the Century as she passes under the bridge. (Note the friendly wave from an Edward H crew member!) I then relocated to Canal Park in Duluth to watch the Aerial Lift Bridge raise, followed by the American Century making her turn to line up with the shipping canal before exiting onto Lake Superior. As she clears the shipping canal, you can see the lights of the Canadian laker Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin in the distance. She was waiting for the American Century to exit the canal before she made her entrance. Stay tuned for that in an upcoming video!

The lights of the American Century were particularly bright for this departing, using both lamps on her bridge and one on her bow to light the way. The lights were blinding as she made the turn towards the canal, but her crew turned them off one-by-one when they were satisfied they had properly lined up with the canal. It seems that crews use spotlights more frequently in the winter months, most likely looking for ice in the harbor as they navigate through the darkness.

The 1000-foot American Century was launched under the name Columbia Star in November 1980, making her the twelfth of thirteen 1000-footers built for Great Lakes trade. She originally sailed for Oglebay Norton. In June 2006, she was sold to American Steamship Company and obtained her current name at that time. She is powered with four V-20 cylinder 3,560 horsepower G.M. diesel engines and has a cargo capacity of 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Cargo is stored in seven holds that are accessed by 34 hatches on deck. Her 260-foot self-unloading boom can discharge up to 10,000 tons per hour.

The 103-foot tugboat Edward H. was launched in 1970 as the YTB-809 (Agawam) for the United States Navy. She was delivered to the Navy on July 28th, 1971 where she was allocated to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Virginia. On November 13th, 2002, she was transferred to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for reuse and or conversion. That same year she was acquired by Maineport Towboats Incorporated of Belfast, Maine, where she was renamed as the Fort Point. In 2017 she was acquired by Heritage Marine and given her current name. She is powered by a single, Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8 diesel engine rated at 2,000 horsepower. She is also outfitted with a stern thruster, powered by a single Detroit Diesel 12-V92TA diesel engine rated at 720 horsepower.

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