The Arthur M. Anderson Passes St. Clair

So I continued down to the River to St. Clair.  I think St. Clair is one of the nicer spots on the River to watch boats because you can watch them come down for a while and then watch them continue for a while longer.

 And because of the orientation of the River, you get a chance for a headshot on downbound ships.

 But anyway, let's continue with the Anderson's story.

 In January 1979, the Anderson collided with the ice breaker Westwind while the icebreaker was making a path through Lake Erie.  In 1981, the self-unloader was added.  IN 1989, she was given a stern thruster and in 1999, she grounded again in Calcite, MI.

 In 2000, US Steel divested itself of the transportation business and Great Lakes Fleet was born.  Four years later, this was bought by the Canadian National Railway but they remain US flagged ships based out of Duluth.

 Given the fact that she's a fresh water vessel and doesn't carry corrosive cargos, she could stay in service for quite a few more years.  Hopefully after that time, she will become a museum ship.

 She really is a pretty nice looking ship.  And she seems to be fairly well maintained.

 You can see the silouettes of the crew in this shot.

 In case you forgot her name and fleet.

 She is also one of the few steamers left on the Lakes.  I would imagine that she's probably not going to get a diesel anytime soon.

 The rear of her pilothouse.

 Pulled out a little bit.  As you can see, the sun was still rising.  I kind of wish I had my passport so that I could catch her from the other side.

 As I said before, she is a US Flagged ship.  This is because of the Jones Act.  The Jones Act requires that ships that sail between US ports are US built and flagged.  Ideally this was to protect US sailors and shipbuilders but his has served to increase the average age of the US fleets.  Most of the shipbuilders on the lakes are gone and some folks think that its cheaper to build ships in China (but I don't agree with that).  At any rate, as long as the Jones Act is around, these ships will soldier on.

 A shot as she moves further downbound.

 They still have the decorations up in the park.

 Another shot.

And one more shot with the park in the foreground.