A late Christmas Present Arrival for the Boatnerds! The Rarely seen in Duluth Saginaw Arrival!

About this visit:
They arrived Duluth December 23 2023 at 19:17 for the second time this season.
They are arriving for the sole purpose of fueling up at the Cenovus dock. They pulled up to the fuel dock at 19:59 and began fueling. After fueling they stayed at the dock, waiting for the Atlantic Huron to finish loading at BN-5 Superior. They departed the Cenovus dock December 24 at 09:27, heading south in the harbor to the BN-5 dock. The Saginaw pulled into the BN dock at 09:27 and began loading ore. Five hours later at 14:27 they finished loading and departed the dock. Officially out of Superior at 14:42
Sailing to Essar Steel at the Soo to deliver the ore.

ABOUT THE M/V SAGINAW
This Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier was built as Hull #417 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI for
the American Steamship Co. She was launched May, 1953 as the John J. Boland (3) and is one of the three near sister
vessels built by this shipyard. Her first cargo was a load of limestone on September 25, 1953 from Port Inland, MI for a
lower lakes port. Her cargoes were stone and coal throughout her tenure with ASC until the mid-eighties when she was laid
up with an uncertain future. In the early 1990's ASC refit the John J. Boland including upgrading her instruments and
remodeling her cabins. She was returned to service on her usual trade routes until she was laid up again at Fraser
Shipyards in 1998 when the announcement came she would not sail the 1999 navigation season. On October 22, 1999,
after 46 years of service, Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. purchased the John J. Boland. The vessel was taken in tow from Fraser
Shipyards to the Government Dock, Sarnia, Ontario. She received a refit, upgrades, and a coat of Lower Lakes grey for her
hull. The vessel was christened Saginaw on November 20, 1999 in honour of Michigan's Saginaw River. On January 2,
2008 Saginaw arrived in Sarnia for winter layup under steam power for the last time. During the next five and a half months
the original 1953 vintage steam propulsion plant was removed and replaced with a new diesel propulsion plant.

SPECIFICATIONS

LENGTH 640’
BEAM 72’00”
DEPTH 36’00”
CAPACITY 21,500 tons
UNLOAD RATE 3,500 NT/hr
OPERATING SPEED 13 Kts
AVERAGE CREW ON BOARD 18-20

MORE ABOUT THE VESSEL

A new Caterpillar MAK 6M43 rated at 6000 bkw @ 500m rpm main engine coupled to a Lufkin vertical offset gearbox with
a 4.265:1 ration and a live power take-off was fitted: the main engine now running on IF180 or diesel fuel. The vessel
successfully departed Sarnia on June 12, 2008 as a motor vessel. The new diesel propulsion plant gives the vessel better
fuel economy with a service speed of 13 knots. And with this new plant, Saginaw could have another 55 years of
operation.
Cargo carried on the Saginaw includes stone, iron ore, coal and other bulk commodities.
The Boland was the former flagship of the American Steamship Company and was another vessel which the industry had
written off, only to see its career revived by Lower Lakes Towing. Being the second acquisition of this newly-formed
Lower Lakes Towing, the purchase of the S/S John J. Boland from the Reiss family, a long-established family in the Great
Lakes shipping represented a great success for the Company.

Previous names:

John J. Boland: 1953 – 1999
Launched as the John J. Boland - This was the third lake boat to carry the John J. Boland name. Mr. John James Boland
was born in Buffalo, NY in 1875. He developed a vessel brokerage business and in 1904, formed a partnership with Mr.
Adam E. Cornelius resulting in the firm Boland & Cornelius which further resulted in the formation of the American
Steamship Company in 1907. Mr. Boland died in October 1956.
Saginaw: 1999 – present


Did you miss our previous article...
https://trendinginhawaii.com/pearl-harbor/pearl-harbor-national-memorial-vlog-tips-amp-tricks-for-visiting