Mesabi Miner

	MV Mesabi Miner transits Soo Locks in 2011
History
United States
Name	MV Mesabi Miner
Owner	Interlake Steamship Company
Operator	Interlake Steamship Company
Port of registry	Wilmington, Delaware
Builder	American Ship Building Company
Yard number	906
Laid down	15 May 1975
Launched	14 February 1977
Christened	14 June 1977
Maiden voyage	7 June 1977
Identification	Call sign: WYP8657; IMO number: 7390272; MMSI number: 366904880;
Status	In active service
General characteristics
Class & type	Lake freighter
Tonnage	14,497 NRT; 34,729 GT
Length	1,003 ft (306 m)
Beam	105 ft (32 m)
Depth	50 ft (15 m)
Installed power	2 × MaK 6M43C four-stroke diesel engines, 8,160 HP (6 MW) each at 514 RPM
Propulsion	2 × 5.33 m (17.5 ft) controllable-pitch propeller; Bow thruster: 1,500 hp (1,100 kW);
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Capacity	Iron ore: 59,000 long tons (60,000 t); Coal: 63,300 long tons (64,300 t);

MV Mesabi Miner is a lake freighter that operates on the upper four North American Great Lakes.^[1] She is one of the small number of vessels that are too large to travel through the Welland Canal that connects Lake Erie to the lowest lake, Lake Ontario.

History

The American Ship Building Company built the ship in 1975 at Lorain, Ohio. Like her sister ships, MV James R. Barker and MV Paul R. Tregurtha, she is owned and operated by the Interlake Shipping Company.^[2]

In spite of her size, the Mesabi Miner is able to maneuver, in harbor, without assistance from tugboats.^[3]

On the morning of January 5, 2014, USCGC Hollyhock was ice breaking for Mesabi Miner, about 22 nautical miles west of the Straits of Mackinac.^[4] She slowed after encountering harder ice and was struck in the stern by the much larger ore carrier. Both vessels sustained damage but there were no injuries, release of pollutants, or reports of flooding.^[5]