(Photo provided)
In Wisconsin, the first U.S.- flagged Great Lakes freighter to be built on the Great Lakes in nearly four decades, while still under construction, was recently “launched” or otherwise floated in the water in the large drydock at the Sturgeon Bay shipyard. Measuring 639 feet in length, the motor vessel “Mark W. Barker” will transport raw materials such as salt, iron ore, and stone to support manufacturing throughout the Great Lakes region, according to a news release from the Great Lakes Seaway Partnership. Mark W. Barker, President of The Interlake Steamship Company, is the namesake of the new vessel, which is the first new ship constructed for the maritime company since 1981. A formal maritime tradition, a launching ceremony honors the first time a boat is transferred from land to water.
(Photo provided)
You can read more about the vessel and the ceremony at this link.
