The Roger Blough

Next up is the Roger Blough. I have posted pictures of this ship before but I will post the details again as it's been a while since I last posted them. It was a beautiful day for boatwatching, the sky was fairly clear but it was still a bit hazy. I think that messed up some of my shots.
I saw the next ship in line queueing up to get into the Detroit River and I thought it made a pretty cool shot, so I took it. The ship in front is the Blough and the next ship is the Lee Tregurtha.Construction on the Roger Blough began in 1968 and it the hull was constructed in 2 pieces. The first piece was constructed in 1968 and launched. The second piece was completed in 1970 and welded to the first piece. The ship was scheduled to be launched in 1971 but an engine fire delayed the launch for another year and finally launched in 1972.

She was built for the Great Lakes Fleet and named after the Chairman of the Board of the US Steel Company.

The ship has a length of 858 feet and can carry almost 44,000 tons of cargo. She is the largest lake boat built on the Great Lakes. There is another ship that is longer, but only parts of her were built on the Great Lakes.

This is probably my favorite angle for taking pictures of ships. You can almost see the whole length and still see the configuration of the superstructures. She mostly carries iron ore pellets because her self unloading mechanism was designed specifically for that in mind but she has carried limestone and stone. The ship as she was almost passing by. I couldn't get the straight on shot because my lens isn't wide enough. A detailed shot of the superstructure. The almost straight on shot. As she is heading down the Detroit River.