James R. Barker joins Winter Fleet in Sturgeon Bay
STURGEON BAY (WLUK) -- One of the biggest ships on the Great Lakes is getting some seasonal maintenance.
The James R. Barker is part of the Winter Fleet gathering in Sturgeon Bay, and the arrival is turning into a tourist attraction for the area as well.
With an escort from the 100-foot long tug William C. Gaynor, the 1000-foot long James R. Barker is hard to miss. A small crowd gathered Monday morning in Sturgeon Bay at a place called bullhead point to take it all in.
"It's quite awesome. Earlier, we could hear the ice cracking when it went through, which was very overwhelming," said Jan Zettel, Hartford.
"I've never seen this happen, so we're watching a 1,000-footer back into the channel. It's awesome," said Joe Zettel, Hartford.
"Oh, it's interesting to see something that big, coming through the Sturgeon Bay Shipping Channel. It's hard to believe they get these big boats in here, but they do," said Keith Merkatoris, Sand Bay.
There are about 14 vessels in this year's Winter Fleet at Fincanteiri Bay Shipbuilding. The James R. Barker is getting some scheduled maintenance, and more.
"We'll be installing plastic in the cargo holds, and that will help preserve the steel, give the rigors of the loading and unloading process of iron ore," said Rich Teddy, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Project Manager.
The big ships may impact those heading out on the frozen surface nearby. Experts say there are about four to eight inches of ice on parts of the Bay of Green Bay.
"It can kind of expand, and contract. and cracks do form. And there's already some cracks out there that have formed since those boats have gone through, just since Sunday," said JJ Malvitz, JJ's Guide Service.
Malvitz says it will take days of below zero temperatures before area ice conditions improve. Until then, more ships are scheduled to arrive for their winter lay-up.
The James R. Barker is among the fleet of ships for the Interlake Steamship Company.
For more than 100 years, the company has worked to transport cargo throughout the Great Lakes region.
The Barker is a massive ship, more than 1,000 feet long, and it was built in 1976..
It was the first 1,000-foot vessel constructed entirely on the Great Lakes.
It's also one of the first thousand-footers to have all crew accommodations in a five-story superstructure located at the stern.
The Barker has a carrying capacity of more than 63,000 tons.
If you want to see the Winter Fleet, some more ships are scheduled to arrive:
- Cason J Calloway, 767-feet long, scheduled to arrive January 16
- Paul R. Tregurtha, 1013-feet long, scheduled to arrive January 17
- Burns Harbor, 1000-feet long, scheduled to arrive January 18
