Here is the James R. Barker seen departing from Superior, Wisconsin on the morning of April 21, 2024. She had just completed loading iron ore pellets (taconite) at the Burlington Northern dock and was outbound for Lake Superior. Her eventual destination with her cargo was Burns Harbor, Indiana. We see the Barker back away from the BN dock, make a pivot using her thrusters, and then exit out the Superior entry. Despite being over 1000 feet in length, the Barker is surprisingly agile, able to make the pivot maneuver look easy.

We didn't get to hear the Barker's famous dual horn salute for this departure, unfortunately. Her crew is good about putting on a show on the Duluth side, but they seem reluctant to salute for their Superior fans. Then again, given that I was the only one out there to wave them off, they maybe decided to save the horn for another occasion.

As the Barker cleared the piers in Superior, she made a call to the Aerial Lift Bridge on the Duluth side of the harbor. Ships visiting the Twin Ports are expected to record their time in port. The bridge keeps track of all arrival and departure times, even if the ship doesn't use the Duluth entry. We can also see the Algoma Discovery off in the distance where she had been sitting at anchor waiting for Barker's departure. She would soon make her way into Superior and take her turn loading taconite at the BN dock. But that's another video for another day!

The James R. Barker is 1004 feet in length and was built in 1976 by the American Ship Building Company of Lorain, Ohio. According to the Boatnerd website, she is powered by "two 8,000 bhp V-16 cylinder, four stroke cycle, single acting, turbocharged Colt-Pielstick PC2V diesel engines, built by Fairbanks Morse Engine Division of Colt Industries, Beloit, WI driving through a Falk reversing gear box to two Bird-Johnson controllable pitch, stainless steel, four bladed propellers seventeen feet, six inches in diameter." She has a cargo capacity of 63,300 tons. She has the distinction of being the first self-contained 1000-footer to be built with the entire superstructure at the aft end of the vessel. This design would be the model the remaining 1000-footers to be built for Great Lakes service.
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