The Joseph L. Block

After leaving DeTour, our next stop was Sault Ste Marie.  Again, I was still monitoring AIS and I saw a ship that I haven't seen before, so we headed to Sherman Park before checking into our hotel.

 It seems like it is getting harder and harder to see ships that I haven't seen before but I know there are still quite a few.  One of these years, I would like to see most of the vessels on the Great Lakes but I'm afraid that may prove to be difficult.

 The Joseph L. Block was born in 1975 at the Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.  She was built for the Inland Steel Company and has kept her name for her entire career.  Her namesake rose through the ranks to become President of Inland Steel.

 She is a self-unloader and is 728 feet long.  She can carry 37,000 tons of cargo. 

 I believe she mostly operates in Lake Michigan, which is probably why I don't get to see her.

She has had a number of problems in her career.

One of these days, I would love to see her fleetmate...The Edward Ryerson.