Walter J. McCarthy Jr. - Frozen Steel on Superior

Here is the Walter J. McCarthy seen departing Superior, Wisconsin on the morning of January 13, 2022 with a load of iron ore (taconite) from the Burlington Northern #5 dock. This was her final visit to the Twin Ports for the 2021 shipping season and her final load for the season overall. The iron ore was scheduled for delivery to Gary, Indiana, after which she was scheduled to go into winter layup in Toledo, Ohio.

The video starts with footage of the tugboat Edward H. doing ice breaking around the McCarthy and in the area where the McCarthy would be backing out and making her turn before heading onto Lake Superior. As the McCarthy backs out, the Edward H. take up positing to help her make the turn, giving her stern a push to help swing her around. As she turns, we get a good view of the ice that accumulated on the McCarthy's bow from her previous crossing of Lake Superior, where the right combination of wind, waves, and cold temperatures caused water to spray onto her hull and freeze. As the McCarthy make her way through the canal, she sounded a captain's salute as a farewell to the couple of people who came to wave goodbye. The radio exchange between the McCarthy and the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge has been included in this video. While ships entering and exiting the Superior Entry do not require a lift, as there is no bridge on this side, they are still required to contact the bridge. The bridge logs them in and out of the harbor, keeping records of how long ships were in the harbor.

Sadly, this final trip of the season was marked by tragedy for the McCarthy's crew. While at anchor outside of Gary, Indiana on January 17 waiting for their turn to unload, second mate Richard Gray died in an accident onboard the McCarthy. He was only 35 years old, leaving behind a wife and three children. (Note: The fundraising link I previously included here has since expired.)

The 1000-foot Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was launched in 1977 and originally named the Belle River. She was the first of the 1000-footers built as Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and was the fifth of thirteen 1000-footers built for the Great Lakes. According to the Boatnerd website, the "McCarthy is powered by four V-20 3600 horsepower GM diesel engines. These engines are arranged in pairs, with each pair connected to a gear reduction box driving a four-blade 17.22-foot diameter controllable pitch propeller. This arrangement permits one engine of each pair to drive each propeller shaft for more economical cruising. She is equipped with 1,500 horsepower bow and stern thrusters. Her 37 hatches feed into seven holds, where she is capable of carrying 78,850 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 34 feet. Her self-unloading equipment consists of a loop belt conveyor feeding a stern-mounted 250-foot-long unloading boom that can be swung 92 degrees to port or starboard and can discharge at a rate of up to 6,000 short tons of coal per hour." The Belle River was renamed the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. on May 25, 1990 in honor of the retired chairman of Detroit Edison.

The 103-foot tugboat Edward H. was launched in 1970 as the YTB-809 (Agawam) for the United States Navy. She was delivered to the Navy on July 28th, 1971 where she was allocated to the 5th Naval District at Norfolk, Virginia. On November 13th, 2002, she was transferred to Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) for reuse and or conversion. That same year she was acquired by Maineport Towboats Incorporated of Belfast, Maine, where she was renamed as the Fort Point. In 2017 she was acquired by Heritage Marine and given her current name. She is powered by a single, Fairbanks Morse 38D8-1/8 diesel engine rated at 2,000 horsepower. She is also outfitted with a stern thruster, powered by a single Detroit Diesel 12-V92TA diesel engine rated at 720 horsepower.

0:00 Tugboat Edward H breaks ice
2:24 McCarthy backs out of BN5 dock
6:19 McCarthy pivots to line up with canal
8:03 McCarthy moves through canal and salutes
11:16 Farewell radio exchange
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