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Great explanation guest!!

Duluthian wrote:

Houseflag wrote:Pellet fines.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what are pellet fines and what are they used for?

Pellet fines are bits and pieces (mainly fine gritty material) that wears off iron pellets when they're handled during loading/unloading/stockpiling. Even though it's iron bearing, this material is not suitable for use in the blast furnace because it is too light and fine and would be blown up through the furnace and into the dust catching system. Instead, pellet fines are mixed with coke fines and fired in a sinter plant which fuses these materials into chunks which become a suitable burden for the blast furnace in terms of consistent weight and size.

Houseflag wrote:Pellet fines.

Please forgive my ignorance, but what are pellet fines and what are they used for?

Pellet fines.

Duluthian wrote:Any idea what cargo the Clarke would be carrying from Zug to Gary? AIS has a Gary destination and her past track shows that she is coming from Zug. Is it typical for lake freighters to carry cargoes between two steel mills?

Could be slag, coke, coke breeze, pellet fines, millscale. These are all by-products that can be produced at one mill and used at another depending on whether the facilities are available to use them.

Duluthian wrote:Any idea what cargo the Clarke would be carrying from Zug to Gary? AIS has a Gary destination and her past track shows that she is coming from Zug. Is it typical for lake freighters to carry cargoes between two steel mills?

Probably slag or coke.

Any idea what cargo the Clarke would be carrying from Zug to Gary? AIS has a Gary destination and her past track shows that she is coming from Zug. Is it typical for lake freighters to carry cargoes between two steel mills?

If memory serves, a crewmember posted on Facebook a few days ago that the problem was with the unloading belt. So they may have gone out into the lake to clean the belt/holds before repairs were started.

I would doubt that it's steel work. She was East of the Apostle's when she turned around. I'd guess something in the engine room. Maybe a blown steam line. When I was on her in, probably 73, we blew a steam line after we departed Duluth. Turned around and spent 3-4 getting it repaired.

Sounds to me that after unloading they went out on the lake to check an engine room problem. verified it and came back in to get it fixed.

Sounds like some serious steel work

Still there this afternoon. They have a truck crane positioned by the stern area.

Brandon wrote:Anyone know why the Clark departed Duluth today got a few hours out, turned around and is now almost back?

AIS shows the Clarke in the shipyard. Supposedly she was to load
at BNSF after discharging her stone cargo, but departed light.

Anyone know why the Clark departed Duluth today got a few hours out, turned around and is now almost back?