Famous Laker ‘Paul R. Tregurtha’ Runs Aground in Duluth – Video

A veteran ‘Laker’ and the longest vessel operating on the Great Lakes ran aground Saturday just meters from Bayfront Park in Duluth, Minnesota.

According to a report from Minnesota’s Star Tribune, the MV Paul R. Tregurtha ran aground at about 3:15 p.m. local time on Saturday after it failed to negotiate a turn toward the Aerial Lift Bridge after departing Duluth with a full load of coal. The vessel was later freed at about 7:20 p.m. with help from the Great Lakes Towing Company tugboats Kentucky and Minnesota under the command of two Duluth veteran Towing Company Captains, Martin Lightner and George LaTour.

The 1981-built MV Paul R. Tregurtha is the unofficial “Queen of the Lakes”, meaning she is the longest vessel currently in operation on the Great Lakes with a length of 1,013.5 feet. The vessel is operated by the Interlake Steamship Company of Richfield, Ohio. and can carry up to 68,000 gross tons of taconite pellets or 71,000 net tons of coal.

AIS data from MarineTraffic showed the Paul R. Tregurtha underway on Lake Superior as of Sunday.

In August 2012, the Paul R. Tregurtha spent nearly 24 hours hard aground in the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.