The Finnborg Comes Down

 One set of ships that I always like to catch is the Wagenborg ships.

They are usually nice looking and it is rare to see rust on them.

The rust in this case is from the anchors and is not rust on the hull.

Her origin was listed as Sault Ste Marie but I'm pretty sure she was coming down from Thunder Bay.

Her destination was listed as Montreal and I think that means she was likely carrying grain.

She is approached by the M.S. Westcott for a pilot change.  Detroit is one of the pilot change points.  The next one is at the entrance of the Welland Canal.

Anyway, like I said, I think these are nice looking ships and they look like they are well maintained.

The are also registered in the home country of the company that runs her.  In this case that is Wagenborg and she is registered in the Netherlands.  Her home port is listed as Delfzul and that is on the northern side of the Netherlands.

She passes the Ambassador Bridge.

She continues on her way.

It is probably likely I will not see her again this year.

A Surprise Borg Ship

 As I was looking down the river, I saw that there was a ship coming upbound.  I was not expecting to see a ship coming upbound.  I thought all the upbound ships had passed.

I looked on Marine Traffic to see what it was.

Turns out that it was the Vlieborg and she was leaving the grain elevator in Windsor.

She was heading over to Green Bay.  And that is about a two day trip for a ship.

I like the look of the Wagenborg ships.  They usually look better painted than this one.  But this one has been around for a while.

Her bow is forward like an old battleship or galley.

I think it looks pretty cool.

Her house flag.

The almost beam shot.

She approaches the Ambassador Bridge.

The moon is peeking out under the Bridge.

I like this shot.

She approaches the last ship.

The Wagenborg ships are unusual for salties in that they are registered in the home country of the company that owns this one.  Her home port is Delfzijl which is kind of on the North Sea and near the German-Dutch border.

The Exeborg Passes By

 As I was getting ready to leave Port Huron, I saw that there was a ship pulling out of the Sarnia grain elevator.  I was going to head home but I decided to head downriver to catch her.

I ended up catching her in Marysville.  There was a festival there and I almost didn't get parking spot.

The Exeborg is owned by Wagenborg out of the Netherlands.  She is a Dutch flagged ship registered in Delfzul.

She was built at the Niestern Sander Shipyard which is in the Northern Netherlands.

It's amazing that other developed countries can still build ships and we in the United States struggle with it.  Maybe it's not so much struggle as the vulture capital bros can't make as much money as they think they should.

As a result, our shipbuilding capacity is struggling and that is starting to hurt in maintaining our Navy.  There isn't enough shipyard space to maintain our Navy vessels.

Something needs to give.

Anyway, I guess she was probably loading grain in Sarnia.

Her destination reads as IEORC, which I believe is Cork, Ireland.

At any rate, like the other ships of her fleet, she looks nice.

One more shot.

The Beatrix Unloads in Windsor

One nice thing about Belanger Park is that you get a pretty good view of the grain elevator in Windsor.  

There is normally a ship or two nearby.  Most of the time they are foreign ships.

In this case, the ship was the Beatrix belonging to Wagenborg of the Netherlands.

I didn't realize grain was so dusty.
 

The Maxima Makes a Return

 So I was looking through Facebook and I saw a ship that I wanted to catch.  I looked it up on Marine Traffic and saw that she would passing Detroit at a time that I could catch her.

So I had dinner and then I headed down to Riverside Park.  It was a fairly nice night and Riverside Park was fairly busy.  I'm glad that I was able to get a spot.

The ship in question was the Maxima which is a ship that is owned by Wagenborg of Holland.

This is the second time she has been on the Great Lakes as she was on the Great Lakes last year.

I was able to get pictures of her last year, but they weren't the greatest as she was passing fairly early and I was shooting into the sun.

Anyway, I missed as she passed Detroit on the way to Chicago.  It was during the week.

Last weekend, I was thinking of heading up to Mackinaw City to catch her as she passed under the Bridge but I didn't.  It was probably a good thing I didn't as there are forest fires as I head up that way.

She was heading up to Duluth, so it looked like I would have one more chance to catch her.

I was glad to catch her under the golden light because she is a neat looking ship.

For some reason, she reminds me of a modern version of a classic laker.

She picked up beets in Duluth and is now heading to Amsterdam.

That trip will take her 20 days.

I can't imagine that.

A relatively clean shot of her.

And another.

The M.S. Westcott pulls up alongside her for the pilot transfer.

I kind of like this shot.

She continues on.

about to pass under the Ambassador Bridge.

The Ambassador Bridge in the background.

This is probably one of my favorite shots down here.

She continues under the bridge.

One more under the bridge.

And she passes.

The Westcott about to peel away from her.

The Gordie Howe Bridge in the background.

One more.