CSL Assiniboine

I don't know what it was, I didn't really feel like going out to take pictures today.  So I went to grab some lunch and then I did my laundry.  After that, I took a little nap and then I decided to see what was coming down the Detroit River.

 It turns out that the CSL Assiniboine was coming upriver.  She is a ship I've seen before but she has not appeared on this blog.  I saw her while I was up in Sault Ste. Marie for the opening of the Locks this year but I was eating dinner at The Antlers, so I didn't have my camera with me.  So I decided to pack up the camera and head down to Belle Isle.

 As it turns out, I'm getting pretty good at judging how long it will take for ships to come up the river as I had enough time to get out of the car and get my camera ready.  Well, it helps that the ais site has a distance calculator and it's fairly decent.

 At any rate, the CSL Assiniboine was born as the Jean Parisien at the Davie Shipbuilding Yard in Lauzon, Quebec.  She was launched in 1977 and was named after the Senior Deputy Chairman of the Power Corp. of Canaada.  He died the year before.

 Originally, she could carry almost 28,000 tons of cargo.  She is powered by 2 Pielstick Diesel Engines which are each rated at 4,500 horsepower.  This gives her a speed of 15 mph and she is also equipped with a bow thruster.

 During the winter of 1978, her bow was equipped with metal fins that were designed to help with icebreaking.  In 1993, she had the honor of opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.

 Here is a shot of her pilothouse.

 And her stacks.

 In 2004, she was lengthened a bit and equipped with a new self-unloader.  After these modifications, she was 739 feet long and could carry over 36,000 tons of cargo.  She was also given her current name.

 She holds one of the Canadian Steamship Lines records for taconite pellets.

 I'm still not a big fan of the rear pilothouse ships but I liked them better than the barges.

 A shot of her bow.

 Another full length shot.

 A closeup of her pilothouse.

And one more parting shot as she heads into Lake St. Clair.