Mesabi Miner transits the Soo Locks in 2011
History
Name	MV Mesabi Miner
Owner	Interlake Steamship Company
Operator	Interlake Steamship Company
Port of registry	Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Builder	American Ship Building Company
Yard number	906
Laid down	15 May 1975
Launched	14 February 1977
Christened	14 June 1977
Maiden voyage	7 June 1977
Identification	Call sign: WYP8657 IMO number: 7390272 7390272 MMSI number: 366904880
Status	In active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Lake freighter
Tonnage	14,497 net register tonnage 34,729 GT
Length	1,003 ft (306 m)
Beam	105 ft (32 m)
Depth	50 ft (15 m)
Installed power	2 × MaK 6M43C four-stroke diesel engines, 8,160 HP (6 MW) each at 514 RPM
Propulsion	2 × 5.33 m (17.5 ft) controllable-pitch propeller Bow thruster: 1,500 hp (1,100 kW)
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity	Iron ore: 59,000 long tons (60,000 t) Coal: 63,300 long tons (64,300 t)

MV Mesabi Miner is a bulk carrier that operates on the upper four North American Great Lakes.^[1] She is one of the small number of vessels that are too large to travel through the Welland Canal that connects Lake Erie to the lowest lake, Lake Ontario.

History

The American Ship Building Company built the ship in 1975 at Lorain, Ohio. Like her sister ships, MV James R. Barker and Paul R. Tregurtha , she is owned and operated by the Interlake Shipping Company.^[2]

In spite of its size the MV Mesabi Miner is able to maneuver, in harbor, without requiring assistance from tugboats.^[3]

On the morning of January 5, 2014, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock was breaking ice for the lake freighter MV Mesabi Miner approximately 22 nautical miles west of the Straits of Mackinac.^[4] She slowed after encountering harder ice and was struck in the stern by the much larger ore carrier. Both vessels sustained damage but there were no injuries, release of pollutants, or reports of flooding.^[5]

External links

• Official M/V Mesabi Miner Webpage

References