Great Lake Bulker Mark W Barker Aground on Belle Isle, Detroit - May 17, 2023

[@wgowshipping]

🚨At approx 12 Noon, the tug Pennsylvania pulled the Barker off the shore. The video is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eanPmIVrm856d7s🚨

[@mikeynth7919]

Need to have the Coast Guard over. Fortunately Sector Detroit is just on the other side of the island downstream of the MacArthur Bridge. Boat Station Belle Isle is just upriver of the site of the grounding.

[@2wheelneil362]

I was part of the first crew on this ship and sailed it all last season. If the mains aren’t running there is no way for the thrusters to be operational, all you’re seeing is prop wash from the tug.

[@wientz]

Oh Man..I've worked in the trades for many years, but something that I have learned...Things tend to beak down when they are very new or very old...Once they figure this one out and get her back at work I am sure she will perform flawlessly for years to come! Btw i saw a shot with her anchor down holdind against the current and it was taut!

[@samueladams3746]

Rowed out of Detroit Boat Club for a few years in the 80s. Practiced on the Canadian side of Belle Isle every morning. It’s really, really shallow in that spot. Used to have “round the island” races and you had to be careful, even in a racing shell not to catch an oar on the rock rip rap that came pretty far out from shore. She way up on that stuff.

[@robertwazniak9495]

Following Great Lakes shipping for the past 30 years. An oops happens every so often but what really surprised me is a new boat carrying salt? Salt hauling is usually relegated to the last couple of years of a vessel’s life due to the corrosive nature of the material.

[@wgowshipping]

Robert. I was wondering about that myself. It seemed like a strange cargo for the ship.

[@MedCodingGoddess]

Mayhap they spent the money to give the hold a corrosive resistant coating of some sort?

[@docksidemarine4273]

That is true for the old way of doing business but now they run salt in them right off the show room floor. All the new algoma self unloaders run salt too

[@briannoell3448]

As a mariner, that surprised me as well.

[@robertwazniak9495]

BTW… vessels confined to the Great Lakes are boats. As opposed to the ocean where you get on a boat if your ship sinks.

[@nmccw3245]

The museum just got a great new exhibit. 😝

[@wattheheck6010]

Just found your channel today. Great report. Subscribed. Former Duluth resident. So, love all things lakers, bridges, and lighthouses.

[@danielagee118]

You'd be surprised how sandy that area on the east side of the island is . If you look close you can see the channel hugs pretty close to the east side of the island. Thanks for the coverage Sal. Always a pleasure to hear your take on a situation.

[@mikeynth7919]

Done lots of USCG Auxiliary patrols out of Belle Isle and on the Detroit River. The river gets shallow fast out of the channels, and if anything happens to the steering, then you are aground fast. I saw a few of those over the years.

[@theblackbear211]

One possibility for that "wake" at the stern, is the engine room circulating water discharge - a number of lakers have this at the stern and above the waterline.

[@wgowshipping]

Great insight. I appreciate it.

[@gus473]

Good report Sal, though we hate to see it happen! And only a few thousand more subs to a big milestone for this channel, which we'll love to see happen! ⚓😎✌️

[@denniswatson6622]

Thanks Sal (by the way, Sal means salt in Spanish 😂). This was grounded right near my exact make out spot when I was in college.

[@thomasbernecky2078]

brings new meaning to Let's hit the beach!

[@babychuma1]

Love the Dossin! What a show the newest queen of the lakes put on for the visitors!

[@Donleecartoons]

Queen? That title goes to the biggest boat on the Lakes, and has belonged to Mark's fleetmate, Paul R. Tregurtha -- all 1,016 feet of her.

[@dennisfeldmann7399]

I made the 20 minutes drive to see this ship. Did see it pulled out by the Tugboat. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@pbear6251]

I just now looked on the live cam and the ship was not there. It has been pulled off the shore

[@bc-guy852]

Another great episode. Sal really gets around! Thanks Sal - and Sean!

[@bobstevens8323]

Sal from the museum you are actually looking East. I live 10 minutes from Belle Isle and grew up boating on lake St Clair. My father managed Great Lakes shipping in the 60’s

[@toddjones1403]

Beautiful day in Detroit, Belle Isle looks good!!

[@arEZyaEXZe]

Some day when you are sitting around wondering what a good topic for a video is maybe you could do a dive into great lakes shipping. What type & sizes of ships can get between lakes & ports, what cargoes are common and what ocean shipping happens in the great lakes. Also I seem to remember there were specific design limitations to restrict military ships into the lakes.

[@dandaly7305]

Rush-Bagot Treaty 1817.

[@john_nip_nop]

If you have time, Great Lakes Shipping has a lot of fans. How many US Flagged seagoing freighters are still operating that were serving in WWII Atlantic and Pacific? MV Lee A Tregurtha (also Interlake) received battle stars as USS Chiwawa - invasion of southern France. Also Occupation Service in Asia. Practically a floating museum, still cranking out revenue.

[@firstlast1047]

Depending how hard aground it may be more difficult to free...lack of tugs with sufficient horsepower in Great lakes. ...Great Lakes Towing launched the tug Pennsylvania in 2020 in Cleveland. It only has two 1000 hp diesel engines and a 30 ton bollard pull. It's sister ship, Wisconsin, was launched the same day. May have to scour entire Great Lakes for larger tugs.

[@NoName-zn1sb]

Its sister

[@firstlast1047]

@No Name I sincerely hope that error didnt prevent you from comprehending my comment. I hve submtd your name fr consideracion fr membershp in The Royal Order of Wordsmittys. Also, when people have nothing intelligent or relevant to contribute to a conversation, they resort to nitpicking, inanities, and insults. 😏

[@brianwood5857]

Sal, You are the best! I really enjoy your videos. PLEASE do one on the Edmond Fitzgerald. No, we don't expect you to sing the song too. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the wreck. Thank you, sir!

[@ScumfuckMcDoucheface]

I'm a Windsorite myself (I live in Windsor, ON haha) and it looks like the ship grounded right across from our river front walkway/garden at Pillette and Wyandott streets.... that large circular feature on the Canadian side directly north of the vessel is a large water fountain, complete with colour changing lighting, it's one of my favourite places in the city. =) Thanks for the heads up Sal!

[@briansteinmacher5811]

Just discovered your channel. Good information about the Mark Barker. It will interesting what caused the vessel to loose power.

[@josephpadula2283]

Sal , Not final exams week is it? I heard some of your students were going to try something like this to put off the test a bit while you cover the incident! Updated version of pulling the fire alarm ….

[@adriannegrillo8394]

So sad. Hope all is well with her, especially her crew.

[@SteamCrane]

The Great Lakes are very difficult to navigate. Narrow, shallow channels in the rivers and ports, and the open lakes can produce very steep sided waves. A captain will make a dock or lock almost every day. Another problem spot is under the Blue Water Bridges, a tight S curve with a fast current. They finally went to one way dispatching through that stretch. Thus mishaps like this are very common. Fortunately, radar, GPS, risk aversion, and better weather forecasting have nearly stopped sinkings. Grounding on the bank is a standard procedure to prevent a sinking, although this one was apparently a loss of power. Some estimates are that the total Great Lakes shipwrecks are around 10,000.

[@louGriggs1944]

Appreciate the report. I think I saw a video of her leaving Duluth with the load of salt a day or so before this. Thanks.

[@dellawhere502]

Sal Marcagliano aka the Jim Cantore of shipping. ❤

[@paullandreville5394]

Totally agree. When Sal arrives at your harbor, something is going to happen.

[@mikegallegos7]

imo Loss of fuel feed which can be from clogged filters/lines slowing/stopping; or loss of power to fuel pump; or a mechanical reason fuel pump failed; an electrical demand/failure that tripped breakers 😮 Thanks for posting.

[@robertf3479]

Judging by the tracking map and the Flags in the foreground, I surmize when she lost main power she may have had a bit of left rudder on her to make the turn to complete the passage past the island and then the wind continued to swing her (now unpowered) and put her aground. Good job holding her so she wouldn't pivot and tear her bottom up on the rocks.

[@bigjoesburgers]

At approximately 0735 local time this morning, the M/V Mark W. Barker was transiting upbound in the Detroit River passing Belle Isle with a cargo of salt from Cleveland bound for Milwaukee, Wisconsin when it experienced a loss of power and maneuverability. The vessel turned to port unexpectedly and the Captain dropped the anchor before the bow grounded on the soft bank of the channel. No one was injured in the incident nor does there appear to be any risk of pollution or damage to the vessel. Working with the United States Coast Guard and with the assistance of a tug, the vessel was able back away from the bank and get underway to make its way to the Belle Isle Anchorage where the crew will continue to assess the vessel and work to determine the cause of the incident.

[@vernwallen4246]

The Captain and Chief Engineer will have a lot of questions too answer.⚓⚓⚓

[@robertwazniak9495]

Dropping anchor in shallow water while in motion can cause some real issues. You can “ trip” over your anchor and cause bottom damage. Hopefully, the captain was on top of things and dropped the stern anchor. Which, if done early enough, can assist in pulling backwards to unbeach the boat.

[@Donleecartoons]

Is that the Interlake news release?

[@larrygorst8749]

Thanks for the info, and for sharing.

[@terracotta6294]

Thank you 💛🤗

[@ronaldjoyce7374]

Thanks for the great update!!! I’ve seen you on TimBatSea and that’s good enough for me to become a subscriber. Ron

[@larryaftertheroad6174]

the detroit river has a downbound current of about 6knts so they have to take extra precautions.

[@Zeppflyer]

If you watch the grounding on the webcam (about 8:31 am) a small craft cuts between the Barker and the shore as she's coming in. Is that the Coastguard cutter? I think I see a rotating radar on the bow, but I'm not sure. If so, what were they doing? Were they aware of the Barker's plans and were making one last sweep of the area ahead of her to drag anyone to safety?

[@AlanTheBeast100]

It's afloat now per AIS - 3.2 Kts downriver at present.

[@ginog5037]

It's to get the first dents and scratches out of way on this new ship. Sal couldn't they drop the anchors to stop? BTW great fast report.

[@rcp3764]

The rocks may just be rip rap protecting the shoreline. Wikipedia says it has a 45' draft.

[@Giversum]

Who puts trust in Wikipedia? Wikipedia says the MWB has 16,000 hp.

[@stewmiller778]

Sal, are you saying the US is North of Canada? That's crazy talk! JK, I grew up in Detroit and half of my cousins lived to the South, in Windsor.

[@Dan-dg9pi]

Thanks for covering this, Sal. Very informative.

[@Starboatbuilder]

Hi Its off - reporting from Canada. Waiting for the next one - its is looking like a long summer

[@delendaestcarthago564]

Maybe I’ll drive by later and take a look. I live a block off of Lake Saint Clair. As I sit on the front porch watching this a CG helicopter flew from Selfridge ANGB towards Detroit.

[@iodine63]

Off already

[@RagtimeBillyPeaches]

Right now (4PM PDT) Windy says they've got a Northeast wind at 12 mph, with gusts at +20mph.

[@gregknipe8772]

you will find a committed, age old audience within pierce. laker fanatics abound!!! hello to them.

[@erwinschmidt7265]

That shot looks alot like they just stopped for some excellent Detroit River Water (Stroh's Beer)!! Also similar to when Ruskies sailed sub into Tampa Bay sending shore party to buy cigs & beer, then just left!! DOD was asked, "Why Dat?" Response was perposterous....never happened, until saw it on 6:00 News!! Nothin' to worry about as top people in charge...what could go wrong??

[@almirria6753]

This is a common occurrence in this area. That is a very narrow channel through there & look at the winds blowin

[@LadyMarie880]

WINDSOR is on the Canadian side.10kn is allow speed. It is a soft landing.

[@SteamCrane]

"Boat". Even Mark W. Barker's 1004 x 105 foot older sister, James R. Barker is a "boat". We watched Mark W. Barker unloading stone in Fairport a few weeks ago. Nice looking boat. Presumably Mark has a high tech hold lining to carry salt. Older salt boats just melt away, both internally and topside. Normally, seeing a boat carrying salt means it's near retirement. I know of 2 boats that were in salt service that later received extensive hold work and returned to general cargoes, Philip R. Clarke and Saginaw. Detroit River current is very fast, warning signs along the banks in some places, adds complexity. Vessels dock facing upriver due to the current. On the plaza outside the Dossin Museum is an anchor that Edmund Fitzgerald lost at the Belle Isle Anchorage ~1974. The museum has many great exhibits, including the wheelhouse from the William Clay Ford and the ornate lounge from the City Of Detroit III.

[@oleran4569]

She was making 10+ knots against the current?

[@SteamCrane]

@@oleran4569 I believe the velocity of the current varies depending on the width and depth of the river at various points. Under the Ambassador Bridge, it's scary fast. Haven't been to Belle Isle in many years, but seemed the current runs pretty good. Back in the 1960's, I watched the 2 GT/CN steam RR car ferries between Detroit and Windsor. The trip was straight across, but they visibly crabbed against the current. The float bridges all pointed downstream, the ferries would round up to enter the slip, and had to keep power on when casting off. One was Lansdowne, a side wheeler, other was maybe Huron or St. Clair, propellers, but older than Lansdowne. All 3 dated into the late 1800s. Realize that the Detroit River carries a substantial percentage of the flow that goes over and bypassing Niagara Falls (and the power house), just less the contribution of northern Ohio, PA, a bit of NY, and part of Ontario.

[@AllNighterHeider]

Why am I not surprised? Thanks Sal

[@RLTtizME]

We don't know. Incoherence maybe?

[@larryl43]

thank you

[@galvint2]

Lakers lost to the nuggets last night, and here it is playing out in real life. A laker ship run aground on rocky terrain. In - SALT to injury.

[@detroit8v715]

Interesting how the self unloading boom is on the bow of the ship instead of in front of the pilot house area like on the older ships.

[@Giversum]

It is about unloading in tight river spaces and shallower areas of docks.

[@Chris_In_Texas]

Hum... Post pandemic constructed ship! Just like most other industries that are cautioning people about purchasing RV's, cars and even houses that were made post 2020 time frame. Seeing a lot of issues with things that were caused by labor force or supply chain parts issues. 🤷‍♂🤦‍♂ Great job Sal with your reporting! 👍

[@RLTtizME]

I have seen wild speculation in my time...but yours is a hum dinger.

[@sweens06]

Interesting, she's brand new too, in service less than a year. Wonder if Interlake and Fincantieri will be meeting on it given it's so new.

[@john_nip_nop]

They don't build 'em like they used to. The WWII lakers are still navigating. Infant mortality with a new batch of technology, perhaps. At least they had rudder control during power outage, used the way to steer to a soft spot. No bow and stern thrusters available, but the crew acted quickly with the no-network-required anchor. Too bad the MV Dali did not have rudder control during blackout (evidently.)

[@durgan5668]

Well, glad to see she's underway. Well, I could see that after I did the whole facepalm thing.

[@idanceforpennies281]

Salt is very light cargo. That's lucky for this situation.

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

Ship happens! Glad they got her off quick.

[@robertbennett6697]

Do Great Lakes vessels have as much fuel-carrying capacity as ocean-going ships built for global trade? It would seem wiser to maximize the cargo-carrying capacity with only short hops between ports.

[@wgowshipping]

No. Small fuel capacity.

[@jeremycox571]

The Coast Guard is inspecting the Mark W Barker now and is unstuck, it should be on her way soon

[@michaeld53]

How is the stern thruster working if there is no power??

[@johncheresna]

Thanks

[@PlanetFrosty]

Professor Sal, shall we rename you Professor “Bad News?” 😂 It’s good to know all the challenges mariners face. Good job.

[@johnbeaulieu2404]

The Detroit River which links Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie flows almost perfectly from north to south.

[@blauer2551]

What? Ever been out there in a boat or check a map?

[@johnbeaulieu2404]

@@blauer2551 Mea Culpa, I was on the river near Grosse Ile, about 20 years ago.

[@gijoecam]

​@@johnbeaulieu2404 at the mouth near GI, it's very north-south. Up there near Belle Isle, Windsor is actually south of Detroit.

[@DanielinLaTuna]

Such a sad outcome for a relatively new vessel 😮

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

When they say soft grounding do they mean fresh KrispyKreme doughnut soft or Charleston SC pluff mud / quicksand …soft..? Speaking of , Is there a Stiction Index for grounded vessels …?

[@gijoecam]

The wind has been blowing pretty strong out of the east today, so if she lost power, that's the direction the wind would have taken her. I doubt she steered to that location. My money is she lost power and the wind simply blew her around to where she came to rest.

[@BIBIWCICC]

Whatever you do don’t let the USCG get involved otherwise it will turn into the costliest salvage ever. They simply don’t have the experience to get involved.

[@RLTtizME]

They were trained by the Canadians.

[@blauer2551]

That shoreline is mostly large chunks of concrete for erosion control.

[@pauldurocher9948]

swifty swift!!!!!

[@rMorin0]

The speed limit is 10.4 on the river.

[@trexdan4537]

Kay E Barker just ran soft aground for the second time in the same place, within a year. Idk what’s been going on with them it’s bonkers

[@waltermittyfonso6801]

Our local news said in addition to the salt, it is also loaded with 105,000 gal. of diesel fuel? Is that just its own fuel tank?

[@wgowshipping]

That would be its own fuel.

[@waltermittyfonso6801]

@@wgowshipping Thanks Sal for super shipping reports!

[@gatedancer17]

Lucky it lost control where it did. It could have hit a pier, marina breakwall, a bridge pier, a docked ship, or something else if it had lost control elsewhere.

[@FrogandFlangeVideo]

Looks like forward thrust from the wash at the stern.

[@macnachten8822]

This was the first ship of its kind built on the Great Lakes since Michael Jackson unveiled the moonwalk and the first cell phone was released for commercial use. Sad that the Lakers first ship in nearly 40 years has already experienced problems.

[@Giversum]

After loss of power the intent was to steer however possible toward Belle Isle. Dropping anchor helped in that. Imagine having to deal with the Canadian government BS too.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

you say a few hours... why such a hurry is she actually blocking any shipping capacity? because if not, I would think they'd want to spent a good day assessing the damage and any potential problems they might face ahead of the operation...

[@wgowshipping]

They pulled her off shortly after I released the video.

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

@@wgowshipping which surprises me... Ok, all my at sea experience is basically leisure (boats under 36 feet), but, I feel like I would have taken much more time checking I will not do myself more damage moving than being where I am.

[@chriskenny6117]

Detroit?! That ship is going to look ridiculous up on cinder blocks.

[@ScumfuckMcDoucheface]

hahaha =)

[@myrany8407]

I grew up just down the road from that spot. LOL

[@ScumfuckMcDoucheface]

Yeah? I grew up on George and Milloy in Windsor and used to visit the Pillette Gardens (I don't think that's the correct name...?) as often as possible. It's absolutely beautiful down there. =)

[@Lutefisk_lover]

Boatnerd has the grounding itself saved as its own video on their channel.

[@wgowshipping]

I linked to the video in the comments.

[@larryfromwisconsin9970]

A shame. I hope no damage. I have been on board the Barker in Superior Wisconsin. I grew up in Superior so I have known Mariners and our Church did an annual Mariner Memorial Service.

[@natelammers652]

Mark W Barker is the current President of Interlake!

[@jeffbangkok]

6 AM coffee in Bangkok with Sal

[@RLTtizME]

FYI...there is a Starbucks near my house. It might be closer for you.

[@guntherultraboltnovacrunch5248]

That ship looks old already. Would have never guessed 2022.

[@RLTtizME]

They switch from carrying mattresses to salt....so it is hard to keep it pristine.

[@patricks_music]

The Barker: I wanna rock! Hope she’s okay though! What a bummer

[@tedsaylor6016]

With Gordon Lightfoot passing recently someone should write a parody song... "with a load of Salt Ore 26 thousand tons more than the Mark W Butler weighed empty..."

[@EmersumBiggins]

You should do it.

[@ccrider5398]

Do new ships have these "loss of power" issues often? It seems that some freighters go decades without losing power.

[@jamesmurney1374]

Not often, but on newer ships the crew aren't as experienced in the particularities of the vessel. When it's new they don't know what can go wrong and how to fix it quickly. On older ships it has probably happened before and the fix is known, so the interruption is much less.

[@nancienordwick4169]

Explain the flag above the country flags, please?

[@wgowshipping]

That is the flag of Detroit.

[@ralhmcc47]

Sal could you tell me something about the flags to the left?

[@colleen3107]

Mark W. Barker is Interlake’s current president, not past.

[@markmurray7031]

I wonder why they didn't drop the anchors when this all started.

[@wgowshipping]

They did drop the stbd anchor as she was coming aground.

[@mikeg.5233]

My favourite vessel is stalled. Hopefully she is ok.

[@loonhaunt]

If that's a soft grounding, I'd hate to hear a hard one. You just said rocky. You could hear it if you scrolled back further. You can rewind a live feed you know.

[@wgowshipping]

I listened to it and it did sound bad.

[@madmax2069]

Lmao. Its like im on my way to deliver....... SQUIRREL must chase squirrel........ stuck, STUCK.... Joking aside i seen the thumbnail and seen barker in the title and thought it could have been the James R Barker, did a double take

[@jaybirdhoffman2876]

Hopefully no damage and safe for the crew

[@alfredhoenicke376]

Hey! I can see my house from there!

[@carriehunt9741]

😂😂😂

[@shaggyrandy1264]

Why is half the river Brown?

[@gijoecam]

On windy days out of the east, the waves churn up the mud in Lake St. Clare, and that muddy water flows down the main channel. The bottom in that area is likely a bit deeper and not getting as churned up as the lake.

[@silmarian]

Might they have grounded her as gently as they could after losing power? If the current is really strong there it may have seemed the lesser of two evils to try and gently put her ashore bow first instead of letting Mother Nature do something even worse like run her into a bridge pier downstream or put her in the beach sideways.

[@chriskelly3678]

Why is the Flag atop the 4 mast Staff not the US Flag?

[@Donleecartoons]

The national flag flies off the vessel's stern, or as close as practical (for example, off the back of the deckhouse on a tug, to keep from interfering with a towline). Flags displayed elsewhere on a vessel might include company ("house") flags, signal flags or courtesy flags of the nations through whose waters the vessel is traveling. On the Detroit and St. Clair rivers, it's common to see US and Canadian vessels flying courtesy flags for each other's nation because they might be crossing and recrossing the national boundary several times in the course of a normal transit.

[@chriskelly3678]

@@Donleecartoons the mast is on the ground in a park.

[@Donleecartoons]

@@chriskelly3678 Sorry. I took "4 mast" for "foremast."