Impressive! The Philip R Clarke Plowing through the Waves Departing Duluth heavy with Iron Ore!

To see pictures of the arrival:   / duluthshipphotography   About the visit: They arrived Duluth MN August 27, 2024 at 15:04 for the 4th visit of the season. Arriving light, heading to the Fraser Shipyard for some quick service work. They pulled into Fraser at 16:03, staying there until the next day, departing August 28 at 00:11 to load Iron Ore pellets at the CN dock for Toledo OH. They pulled into the CN dock at 00:49 and began the load. 11.3 hours later at 12:06 they departed CN, heading down river to depart Duluth. Out of Duluth they sailed, into the wind and waves at 13:03 in the windy afternoon! Cruising out of the canal at 6.4 Kts, pushing the waves out of their way. That V bow design really does cut the waves well! Info from https://greatlakesships.wordpress.com Build Information Year Built: 1952 Builder: American Shipbuilding Company, Lorain, OH Hull #867 Registry: U.S. 263699 IMO #5277062 Laid Down: December 18, 1950 Launch Date: November 26, 1951 Commissioned: May 15, 1952 Construction The Philip R. Clarke was constructed in 1952 as a gearless bulk carrier by the American Shipbuilding Company at their Lorain, Ohio, shipyard for the Pittsburgh Steamship Division of United States Steel Corporation. She was the leading member of the AAA Class, or the “Pittsburgh” Class. The AAA Class ships were designed with refined hull streamlining and an asymmetrical stern to help improve water flow to the propeller. Adding to this, the rudder was slightly offset for more efficiency. All vessels of the class were originally 647’ long, 70’ wide, and 36’ deep with a cargo capacity of about 21,000 tons. The AAA ships were outfitted with oil fired boilers that provided steam for a large Westinghouse geared steam turbine, giving them around 7,000 HP. These engines pushed the ships along at around 16 MPH, making a round trip in just over 5 days, an improvement over the 6-7 day passages by older vessels. There were also some minor differences between the American Shipbuilding and Great Lakes Engineering Works units, those being that the Great Lakes Engineering ships had a slightly larger pilothouse but a slightly lower gross registered tonnage. The Philip R. Clarke was the first of eight ships built along the AAA class lines, the others being the identical Arthur M. Anderson, Cason J. Callaway, Reserve and William Clay Ford, and the near-identical Edward B. Greene, Armco, and J. L. Mauthe. The Clarke was originally constructed as a gearless bulk carrier, being designed with large box holds to make her an efficient carrier in the iron ore trade. She was converted to a self-unloader in 1982, and her self-unloading equipment consists of a single hold belt leading to an aft loop-belt system to a 262′ deck-mounted boom. Modifications Modified for saltwater operations, 1962. Bow thruster installed, 1966. Lengthened by 120′, Fraser Shipyards, Superior, Wisconsin, 1974. Converted to self-unloader, Fraser Shipyards, Superior, Wisconsin, 1982. Stern thruster installed, Fraser Shipyards, Superior, Wisconsin, 1988. Self-unloading boom lengthened by 12′, Rogers City, Michigan, 1994. General Stats AFTER LENGTHENING, 1974 Length Overall: 767′ Length Between Perpendiculars: 749’03” Breadth: 70′ Depth: 36′ Loaded Draft: 27′ Capacity: 26,525 Tons Vessel Type: Gearless Bulk Carrier Number of Cargo Holds: 3 [Hatch-Hold Arrangement: 6-12-6] Number of Hatches: 24 [Dimensions: 46’x11′] Primary Operations: Ore Trade Propellers: 1 Rudders: 1 AFTER CONVERSION TO SELF-UNLOADER, 1982 Length Overall: 767′ Length Between Perpendiculars: 749’03” Breadth: 70′ Depth: 36′ Loaded Draft: 27′ Capacity: 25,300 Tons Vessel Type: Loop-Belt Self-Unloader Self-Unloading Boom Length: Aft-Mounted; 262′ [Lengthened from 250′ in 1994] Number of Cargo Holds: 7 [Hatch-Hold Arrangement: 3-3-4-4-4-3-2] Number of Hatches: 23 [Dimensions: 46’x11′] Primary Operations: Ore, Coal, Stone Trades Propellers: 1 Controllable Pitch Propeller Rudders: 1 Engineering Equipment Original ENGINE Engine Type: Steam Turbine Engine Manufacturer: Westinghouse Electric Co., Pittsburgh, PA Engine Model: Double-Reduction Geared Steam Turbine Number of Engines: 1 Rated HP: 7700 SHP BOILER Boiler Type: Oil-Fired Water Tube Boilers Boiler Manufacturer: Foster-Wheeler, Baar, Switzerland Boiler Size: 15466 sq. ft. Number of Boilers: 2