The Prime and Sarah Andrie pass the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum.
This Great Lakes Boat Blog is presented by House of Flavors Restaurant, 402 W. Ludington Ave., Ludington; houseofflavorsrestaurants.com
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — Tuesday was a busy day for boat watching in the Port of Ludington, with two vessels departing and two arriving around noon.
The MV Prime tanker, escorted by the tug Sarah Andrie, began departing the OxyChem dock on Pere Marquette Lake around 11:20 a.m. The vessels reached the pier heads about 12:05 p.m.
The Julie Dee tug arrives at Ludington harbor.
At 11:37 a.m., the tug Julie Dee entered the channel.
Topping off the traffic was the arrival of the articulated tug-barge Candice Elise/Robert F. Deegan at 12:26 p.m.
The Prime was departing after its second visit to OxyChem this shipping season. It is expected to return several more times, taking the place of the ATB Spartan/Spartan II, which are currently in Sturgeon Bay with reported major hull issues.
The Norwegian-flagged Prime measures about 459 feet long and 69 feet wide. It has a gross tonnage of 9,910 and a deadweight capacity of about 16,260 short tons. The vessel was built in 2004 at Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo in Viana do Castelo, Portugal, for Finnish operator Neste Shipping Oy and entered service as Kiisla. It later sailed as CM Prime before taking its current name. Ownership is listed under MES Trade Invest AG, with management by OSM Ship Management AS.
Historically, Prime has operated primarily in Northern European waters, including Baltic and North Sea ports such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam, serving as a regional carrier of refined petroleum products and chemicals. Its presence on the Great Lakes appears to be a more recent development.
The tug Sarah Andrie, a U.S.-flag vessel based in Muskegon, assisted Prime with docking maneuvers at the OxyChem facility. The tug is owned and operated by Andrie Inc., a Muskegon-based company that provides towing and petroleum transportation services on the Great Lakes.
Candice Elise/Robert F. Deegan turns into Pere Marquette Lake from the Ludington channel.
Sarah Andrie measures about 106 feet long and 32 feet wide and is powered by engines rated at about 3,800 to 3,900 horsepower. It was built in 1970 by Main Iron Works in Houma, Louisiana, and was originally named Miss Stacy. In 1999, it was owned by Foss Maritime and renamed Stacy Foss. Andrie purchased the vessel in 2015 and renamed it Sarah Andrie.
The Candice Elise/Robert F. Deegan was also headed to OxyChem. The tug Candice Elise is 100 feet long and 32 feet wide with a depth of 14 feet, 8 inches. It is owned by Ashton Marine Co. of North Muskegon. The vessel was built in 1981 by Modern Marine Power Inc. in Houma, Louisiana, as Perseverance. It was renamed Mr. Bill G. in 1983, El Rhino Grande in 1990, Stephen Dann in 1997 and Candice Elise in 2015.
Its propulsion system includes two Caterpillar 3512 TA diesel engines rated at 2,600 horsepower.
The barge Robert F. Deegan was built in 1968 by Wyatt Industries in Houston. It measures 225 feet long and 60 feet wide with a depth of 14 feet. It is owned by USS Great Lakes LLC of New York and operated by Ashton Marine.
The Julie Dee is a 68-foot tug owned and operated by The King Co. of Holland. It was en route to the OxyChem dock on Pere Marquette Lake along the Buttersville Peninsula. The vessel has been operating in Ludington while King installs a 3-mile-long fish net in Lake Michigan at the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant.
Built in 1937 in Beaumont, Texas, the tug previously operated under the names Jerry O’Day and Cindy B.
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