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First saltie of the 2018 shipping season is on its way to Port of Duluth-Superior

[ April 26, 2018   //   ]

The first ‘saltie’ of the 2018 commercial navigation season, the Federal Weser, is on its way to the Port of Duluth-Superior and is expected to arrive 04/05/2018 by 10 p.m. Its official arrival time will be recorded when the ship passes beneath Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge. 

 The Federal Weser is expected to start loading Monday morning at the CHS terminal on the Superior side of the harbor – 21,400 metric tons of durum wheat bound for Algeria. If all goes according to plan, departure could be late Tuesday or Wednesday.   

 Built in 2002, the 656-foot bulk carrier is named after a major river in western Germany and flies the flag of the Marshall Islands. Part of the Fednav fleet, the Federal Weser last visited the Twin Ports in 2015. On this year’s transit, it stopped along the way to deliver a load of steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

 The Federal Weser has 22 crew members onboard and is under the command of Captain Umesh C. Sharma. The local vessel agent is Daniel’s Shipping Services. Stevedoring is being handled by Ceres Terminals, with tug assists provided by the Great Lakes Towing Company. It appears to be the first of a half-dozen salties that will be making their way to the Twin Ports via the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System during the next couple of weeks.

 Boat watchers typically line the Duluth Ship Canal to take photos and greet the first saltie of the season, but time of day and weather conditions do play a factor in crowd size.

 

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