Three Ships Outside of Riverside Park

 As I got to the park yesterday, the Federal Kumano had just passed and the two ships I came to see were coming down.  As I looked up in that direction, I saw a picture I couldn't pass up on.

It's not often that I can get a picture of three ships in the same frame but that happened yesterday.  The Federal Kumano was on her way up to Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.  I am guessing that she will be loading steel coils there.  The Sarah Desgagnes and Cuyahoga were on their way to their respective destinations and more about that later.

Next Up the Federal Kumano

 After catching the Anderson in Marysville, I decided to head back up to Port Huron.  As I was heading up to Port Huron, I passed a ship that I would end up missing.  I wasn't too disappointed by that since the next I could catch looked exactly like her.

The Federal Kumano is one of several salties that travel on the Great Lakes.

I think she was heading down from Duluth.

And she was heading to Montreal.

I think she had a load of grain for Montreal.  Or she might have had a destination of Montreal because she would drop off cargo there and pick up something for overseas.

I really like these ships.  They add a bit of color to the ships on the lakes.

They also seem to be fairly well taken care of.  Saltwater vessels tend to look rougher than their freshwater equivalents.

She starts to make her turn for the river.

I love the lighting.

The second head on shot.

And she turns for the channel.

There are quite a few trucks heading into Canada.  I think that bodes well for the economy.

She cuts a nice profile.

A seagull passing by.

A shot of  her pilothouse.

She is registered in Majuro which is in the Marshall Islands.

If some aspects of science are to be believed, the Marshall Islands will cease to exist.

Waking Up to the Federal Kumano

Sunday turned out to be a pretty busy day for me.  First I noticed that there was a boat that I wanted to catch, so I headed down to Del Ray in order to catch her.  Or at least I started there.

 First up was the Federal Kumano.  If I had gotten motivated a little sooner, I could have caught the ship off the right that was carrying windmill blades.  I like catching those ships because it is a fairly unique cargo.

 The Federal Kumano has appeared on this blog before. 

 According to AIS, she's heading to Spain.  Currently she at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

I'm not sure what she's carrying though.

The Federal Kumano and Something Cool

Next up is the Federal Kumano.

 Oddly enough, the Federal Kumano has not made an appearance on this blog before.

 She is following the Huron Belle, which has appeared on this blog before.

 The Huron Belle is the pilot boat that operates out of Port Huron.

 And based on what I saw a little later, she is in the process of transferring a pilot to the Federal Kumano.

 The Federal Kumano was built in 2001.  She is 624 feet long and can carry almost 33,000 tons of cargo.  She is one of several ocean going vessels that visit the Great Lakes.  I think she is heading up to either Duluth or Thunder Bay.

 The pilot boat gets close to the Kumano.

....a ladder comes down....

 ....and a new pilot comes up.   I will have to admit, it was pretty cool to watch this, especially when you consider that both vessels were moving.

The Federal Kumano about ready to head off.