The Welland Canal - Part Two

Before heading home, I decided to make one more stop at Lock Three because I saw a pair of ships on AIS.  I had not seen either ship before, so I figured it would be worth the stop.

 First up was the Fednav Ship, Federal Weser.  She is a salty that was built in 2002.

 She is 652 feet long and can carry a little over 37,000 tons of cargo.  Here she is squeezing into Lock Three.

 One of the nice things about this lock is that you are almost right on top of the ship but one of the not so nice things is that the fence is not very camera friendly.

 A shot of her bow.

 Another of her pilothouse.

 I decided that I wanted a better viewing place, so I took a little walk down the path leading to another bridge.  It gave me a nice view of ships coming out of one of the other locks.

 The ship I was really interested in catching was the Baie St. Paul.  Fortunately, she was just leaving the lock, so it wouldn't be too long.

 This spot also gives a nice view of ships leaving Lock Three.

 I kind of liked how the ship was framed by the supports of the Bridge.

 This is another lift bridge.

 And it prepares for the impending ship.

 The Baie St. Paul represents the newest ship on the Great Lakes and is the first of the Trillium class of ships that are being built Jiangyin, China for the Canada Steamship Lines.

 Her voyage from China began last year.  She is 740 feet long and has a beam of 78 feet wide.  She can carry a little over 37,000 tons of cargo.  Her maiden voyage was to deliver iron ore pellets from Superior, WI to Quebec City.  She is the second ship to bear this name.

 She's not a bad looking ship but I do not like what she represents for the future of the United States and Canada.  I do not understand why we are mortgaging our future for a quick buck now.  One of the major issues is that China can't hold down the wages of their workers for ever and what do we once our industries are gone?   It doesn't take long for that kind of knowledge to be lost.

 For the most part, these ships are designed here but you need to be on site to see some of the little tweaks that are made for manufacturability.  I'm still not convinced that Chinese quality is anywhere near where American or Canadian quality is, so in the long run this ship may end up costing more than an American or Canadian build.

 But enough politics.  Like I said, she's not a bad looking ship.

 I kind of like the look of her pilothouse but it still pales in comparison to a classic laker.

 Her bow.

 While I wasn't as close as I was at Port Colborne, I was still pretty close to the ships.

 Another shot of her pilothouse.

 An angle that I just can't get on the Detroit or St. Clair River.

 Sporting her Canada Steamship colors.

 Her lifeboat.

 And she heads off to the next lock.

 And you can see the approaching Federal Weser.

 And the two ships pass.

 And the Federal Weser comes more into view.

 I just can't get this angle at home unless I scrounge a boat up and even then, I'm not sure I'd want to try this angle.

 Her name.

 The bulbous bow of a saltie.

 Some of the hull markings.

 Her pilothouse.

 Another shot of her pilothouse.

 Her rudder.

 Stack.

 And stern.

 One more shot of the Bridge.

 And the Weser enters her lock.

 The Baie St. Paul entering her lock.

One more shot of her pilothouse.

And then it was off to Windsor and then home.