James R. Barker (1976 ship)

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The James R. Barker travels through ice, on the St. Marys River, March 26, 2013.

James R. Barker is an American bulk carrier that operates on the upper four North American Great Lakes.[1] Built in 1976 by the American Ship Building Company at Lorain, Ohio, the ship is 1004 feet long, 50 feet high and 105 feet wide. Like the Mesabi Miner, a ship of the same design, it is owned and operated by the Interlake Shipping Company[2] and was named for Interlake’s Chairman of the Board, James R. Barker.[3]

The James R. Barker is the third vessel of that size to be built. There are fourteen vessels that are restricted to the upper lakes because they are too large to travel through the Welland Canal that connects Lake Erie to the lowest lake, Lake Ontario.

In spite of their size, these two vessels are able to maneuver in harbor without requiring assistance from tugboats.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature -- James R. Barker". Boatnerd. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  2. ^ Raymond A. Bawal (2011). Superships of the Great Lakes: Thousand-foot Ships on the Great Lakes. . pp. 27–32, 35, 42–46, 70. ISBN 9780981815749. Retrieved 2016-03-14.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "M/V James R. Barker". The Interlake Steamship Company.
  4. ^ Alex Roland; W. Jeffrey Bolster; Alexander Keyssar (2008). The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisoned, 1600-2000. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 367–370. ISBN 9780470136003. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
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