Irvin May Not Return Back To It’s Normal Slip Until The End Of Summer

The William A. Irvin is a major tourist attraction for Duluth and is a huge part of Canal Park, but it looks like we may not be seeing the mighty ship back in it's home until August. According to Fox 21 DECC  Executive Director Chelly Townsend said " The bids for the Irvin’s maintenance work at Fraser Shipyards are coming in higher than expected. We can’t pay much more than $500,000 worth of grant money available from the Minnesota Historical Society. The City of Duluth has already paid $850,000 to move the Irvin last September so crews could finish the Minnesota Slip restoration project in Canal Park."

The Irvin has been docked at the Frasier Shipyard for the last 7 months and has two other ships ahead of it that need dry dock work done first. If a contract is figured out they hope to have The Irvin painted and maintenance work done to get it back into it's normal slip by August.

The ships museum usually attracts thousands of visitors every year bringing in around $200,000 in revenue. Plus, the Haunted Ship is a super popular attraction every year that also brings in tons of visitors and revenue. Unfortunately The Haunted Ship was canceled last year due to the ship being moved and I for one was really bummed since it is one of the highlights of my year going through the ship and broadcasting live during the tours. Fingers crossed that everything works out and that the Irvin can be back in it's slip where it belongs.