Shipping Facts

Duluth Shipping facts

• The Port of Duluth-Superior welcomes around 900 vessels each year and handles an average of 35 million short tons of cargo every year
• It’s 2,342 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to Duluth-Superior
• Iron ore and coal account for about 80% of the Port of Duluth-Superior’s total tonnage
• Two main types of ships visit the Port regularly
• Lakers – bulk carriers specially built for the Great Lakes
• Salties – Seaway-max vessels
• The St. Lawrence Seaway, which provides access from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, has become a lifeline to doing business with the rest of the globe
• The St. Lawrence Seaway transports 80% of the iron ore used in US steel production
• The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway creates more than 1/3 of the continent’s gross national product

Boating lingo

• Bow – front end of a boat
• Stern – rear end of a boat
• Underway – when a boat is moving, by motor, wind, etc.
• Amidships – central part of a boating vessel
• Topside – moving from the lower deck of a boat to an upper deck
• Quarters – living and sleeping areas of a vessel
• Head – toilet facilities
• Hull – the structural body of the boat that rests in the water
• Dry Weight – weight of the boat without fuel and freshwater
• MAYDAY – a radio distress call

Lake Superior fun facts

• Lake Superior contains 10% of all planet Earth’s fresh surface water
• The deepest point of Lake Superior is 1,333 feet deep but it averages at 483 feet
• Lake Superior is the biggest lake in the world by surface area
• There are 78 species of fish found in the lake
• Lake Superior stretches 160 miles wide and is 350 miles long
• The lake rarely freezes over completley
• The average temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit
• Lake Superior roughly contains 3-quadrillon gallons of water
• The retention time of water is 191 years – for example, when it rains this water will stay in the lake for that long
• Lake Superior is only about 10,000 years old – essentially a geological newcomer
• Because of its temperature, Lake Superior is very clean