Interlake Commences 2018 Sailing Season

The Interlake Steamship Company said its articulated tug-barge unit (ATB) Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder has departed winter layup on Saturday, February 24, to begin early-season shuttles of iron ore for ArcelorMittal, an integrated steel and mining company with blast furnaces at the head of the Cuyahoga River.

A workhorse of Interlake’s nine-vessel fleet, the 700-foot Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder is one of Interlake’s two River-Class vessels, a designation given to ships that can traverse the narrowest harbors of the Great Lakes. 

“We are excited to kick off our 2018 navigation season with one of the longest River-Class vessels capable of transiting the winding Cuyahoga River,” said Brendan O’Connor, Interlake’s Vice President of Marketing and Marine Traffic. “With its unique Z-drive propulsion systems, the Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder is the most maneuverable vessel in the U.S. Great Lakes fleet.” 

While the Dorothy Ann-Pathfinder gets underway, the eight other vessels in the Interlake fleet remain at lay-up docks and shipyards around the Great Lakes for a few more weeks in the final stages of more than $20 million worth of winter work projects. Project highlights include extensive steel renewal, dry dock inspections and an exhaust gas scrubber installation on the longest ship on the Great Lakes, the 1,013.5-foot M/V Paul R. Tregurtha.

Interlake committed in 2015 to outfit more than half of its fleet with freshwater scrubbers. The Tregurtha retrofit represents the final phase of that program and will become the fifth vessel in the fleet to discharge a signature steam plume when she sails later this spring.