The M/V James R Barker

Why are we writing about an iron ore vessel? In a little more than a week, Steel Market Update founder and publisher, John Packard, will board the M/V James R Barker along with Interlake Steamship Vice President Brendan O’Conner. The ship’s itinerary calls for the vessel to self-load approximately 58,000 tons of iron ore pellets in Two Harbors, Minnesota and then travel across Lake Superior, go through the Sault Locks and down the full length of Lake Michigan before unloading its cargo at Indiana Harbor.

According to the Interlake Steamship website, the “M/V James R. Barker was the first 1000-foot class vessel constructed entirely on the Great Lakes, where she was built by American Ship Building Company at Lorain, Ohio. Her self-unloading system includes three cargo hold belts and a 250-foot boom, and is capable of discharging a cargo in about eight hours. The James R. Barker is named for Interlake’s President and Chairman of the Board.  The ship has always been part of the Interlake Steamship fleet.”