Great Lakes' Biggest Dual-Mode ITB Begins Service
One of the most labor- and fuel-efficient bulk material carriers on the Great Lakes entered service in June 2000. The self-unloading barge Great Lakes Trader is owned by Great Lakes Marine Leasing, Portland, Ore., and operated by VanEnkevort Tug and Barge, Bark River, Mich. The 740 x 78 ft. (226 x 24 m) Trader is the largest vessel capable of fitting through the St. Lawrence Seaway locks. Combined with the 10,200-bhp (7,600 bkW) tug Joyce L. VanEnkevort, the new integrated tug/barge (ITB) unit is the biggest dual-mode ITB on the Great Lakes. The 39,600 long ton (40,234 metric ton) capacity Trader was designed by a team of engineers directed by naval architect Joe Fischer, president of Bay Engineering, Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wisc.
Great Boats of 2000
Every year, MarineNews chooses a handful of vessels delivered in the past 12 months and bestows upon them the distinction of “Great Boats.” The boats are chosen for innovations in design, construction and utilization. Following are the 17 vessels or groups of vessels chosen as the Great Boats of 2000. Crowley Marine Services delivered Alert, Attentive, and Aware, a series of three 140-ft., 10,000-hp Prevention and Response Tugs (PRTs), to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Valdez, Alaska. Specifically designed and developed for Alyeska, the boats will be used by Crowley in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System trade. Alert was deployed in February; Attentive was delivered in June, and Aware was delivered in July.
