Here is the Hon. James L. Oberstar arriving in Duluth, Minnesota on the morning of May 18, 2018. She was carrying a split load of limestone from Stoneport, Michigan and dolomite from Meldrum Bay, Ontario to be discharged at the Hallett 5 dock in West Duluth. On her way in, the Oberstar exchanged a captain's salute with the Aerial Lift Bridge. After unloading, the Oberstar would load coal at the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior and make the very short trip over to Graymont (also in Superior) to discharge the coal. Finally, she would depart Duluth empty on May 19, heading to Silver Bay, Minnesota to load taconite (iron ore) pellets for delivery to Toledo, Ohio.
For this video, we get to enjoy to the narration from the Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center, which is located along the north pier of the Duluth shipping canal. During the museum hours staff will often narrate ship arrivals and departures providing facts and history of the ships moving through the canal. It's a great service provided to visitors in the area. Truth be told, I often don't record along the north pier during museum hours, as I prefer to capture the natural sounds of the lake freighters in action. But it doesn't hurt to capture the occasional bit of narration, as I know some here would probably enjoy hearing it. If you're in the Duluth area, be sure to stop by the Visitors Center. It's free and offers a lot of interesting displays about shipping on the lakes.
There are other channels out there that do narration better than I ever could, so I won't attempt to compete with them. It takes skill to be able to speak into a camera and provide interesting information that viewers can relate to. Indeed, it's nice that we have a wide variety of content creators across the Great Lakes that each offer their own style of video production. In the Twin Ports alone, we have at least five channels offering regular shipping content with its individual style, including the Duluth Harbor Cam, Paul Scinocca, Jonathan Ellsworth, Vibe with Mike, and yours truly. (Sadly, the Alaricdogface channel seems to have gone quiet lately. He was doing his KZread videos long before the rest of us... so tip your hat to him if you see him post again.) Additionally, there are many more people who post occasional videos. If you love Great Lakes shipping, there is no lack of material for you to watch on KZread!
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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