Thunder Bay is a Trillium-class lake freighter cargo vessel, built and launched in China in 2013.[1][2] The ship is owned, and operated on the Great Lakes, by the Canada Steamship Lines (CSL). Like her three sister ships in CSL's Trillium class, Baie St. Paul, Baie Comeau, and Whitefish Bay, the vessel is a self-unloading bulk carrier, with a conveyor belt on a long boom that can be deployed over port or starboard sides.

Thunder Bay upbound out of Lock 2 of the Welland Canal
History
NameThunder Bay
OperatorCanada Steamship Lines
Port of registry Canada
BuilderChengxi shipyard, Jiangyin
Yard number9302
Completed13 May 2013
IdentificationIMO number9601039
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and typeTrillium-class freighter
Tonnage
Length225.5 m (739 ft 10 in)
Beam23.76 m (77 ft 11 in)
Draught9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Installed power1 x IMO Tier III MAN B&W 6S50ME diesel engine, 8,750 kW (11,730 hp)
Propulsion1 shaft

Design and description

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According to the Miramar Ship Index Whitefish Bay has a gross tonnage (GT) of 24,430 and a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 37,690 tons.[3] However, on the CSL website, the ship is stated as measuring 24,430 GT and 34,500 DWT.[4]

Thunder Bay is 225.5 metres (739 ft 10 in) long overall with a beam of 23.76 metres (77 ft 11 in).[3] Thunder Bay has a maximum draught of 9 metres (29 ft 6 in). The ship is powered by one IMO Tier III MAN B&W 6S50ME diesel engine driving one shaft creating 8,750 kilowatts (11,730 hp).[5]

The ship is equipped with five holds and has a net hold capacity of 41,917.96 cubic metres (1,480,319 cu ft). The vessel has an average unloading rate of 5,450 tonnes (5,360 long tons; 6,010 short tons) per hour.[4] CSL asserts that the new vessels will be more efficient than existing vessels, and will leave less pollution.[6]

Construction and career

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She was launched on 13 May 2013 and made her first transit of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in July 2013, and visited her namesake port, Thunder Bay, Ontario, on 27 September 2013.[7][8] Louis Martel, President of CSL, Vance Badawey, mayor of Port Colborne, and Rick Dykstra, Member of Parliament for nearby St. Catharines, Ontario, presided over a celebration of the vessel's first cargo, on 8 August 2013, when she passed through Port Colborne, bound for Quebec City with a shipment of iron ore pellets from Escanaba, Michigan.

References

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  1. ^ "MV Thunder Bay celebrated in namesake port" (PDF). Thunder Bay Port Authority. December 2013. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  2. ^ "Canada Steamship Lines unveils 'Thunder Bay' ship: Canada Steamship Lines has plans to celebrate in the city, later this year". CBC News. 2013-08-07. Archived from the original on 2014-01-25. Canada Steamship Lines says its second new Trillium Class Laker is named the Thunder Bay as part of the revival of the trusty 'Bay' series in the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes fleet, and in honour of the Port of Thunder Bay. CSL's first Thunder Bay was a bulk carrier built in 1952 at Port Arthur Shipyard. She was converted into a self-unloader in 1969 and renamed the Stadacona.
  3. ^ a b "Thunder Bay (9601039)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Thunder Bay". CSL Group. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  5. ^ "CSL'S Trillium Class Laker". CSL Group. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  6. ^ "CSL's Trillium Class Sails for Great Lakes". marinelink.com. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  7. ^ James Murray (2013-09-27). "CSL MV Thunder Bay Arrives in Port Today". News Net Ledger. Thunder Bay, Ontario. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27. The Thunder Bay is the third of four new Trillium Class vessels to join CSL's Great Lakes fleet. Conceived and built as part of CSL's ambitious fleet renewal program, Trillium ships are equipped with the most advanced, sustainable and safe technologies available on the market today.
  8. ^ Dave Johnson (2014-08-08). "Thunder Bay moves through Niagara". Welland Tribune. Port Colborne. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. After the ceremony, which saw St. Catharines Conservative MP Rick Dykstra, Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey and Martel speak — and all greeted by blasts of Thunder Bay's horn, the vessel was headed to Quebec City to discharge its load of iron ore pellets that were loaded in Escanaba, Mich.
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