Clipper Gemini Arrives in Duluth on Maiden Voyage

(Information provided by Duluth Port Authority)

Maiden Voyage from Hong Kong to Duluth to weekend discharge of heavy-lift cargo

A newly christened oceangoing vessel, the Clipper Gemini, sailed into the Port of Duluth-Superior today.  It’s not often that Duluth ends up being a port of call on a ship’s maiden voyage from Hong Kong!

The 393-foot Bahamian-flag vessel was loaded in and left Kobe, Japan, on Feb. 23, 2012. En route to Duluth, she wound her way around the globe via Xingang, China; Songkhla, Thailand; Singapore; the Suez Canal; Gibralter; Poole, UK; and Hamburg and Rostok, Germany, before entering the St. Lawrence Seaway on April 28. She made one last stop in Valleyfield (Quebec) before arriving in the Twin Ports.

Over the weekend, crews from Lake Superior Warehousing Co. will discharge its breakbulk cargo of gas and steam turbine/generator components for a large electricity generation project (including six heavy-lift units) at the Clure Public Marine Terminal, the port’s only breakbulk terminal. From Duluth, the cargo will move its final leg via specialized railcar and truck to the ENMAX Shepard Energy Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

“Delivery of this significant cargo has been painstakingly planned down to the last detail,” said Gianna Manes, ENMAX Corporation President and CEO. “Each of the natural-gas fired turbines weighs about 735,000 pounds and are the equivalent to a 4-story building in length. Once in place and operational, the 800 MW Shepard Energy Centre will be a pivotal facility to Alberta’s growing electricity needs.”

Cargo onboard the Clipper Gemini is one of nearly 20 shipments of heavy machinery and other energy-related equipment expected in the Twin Ports during 2012, the majority of which will include components for U.S. wind energy projects.