Tight Squeeze! Largest Ship On The Great Lakes ‘Threads The Needle’ Under Blatnik Bridge

This is pretty impressive!

The Paul R. Tregurtha, known as the "Queen of the Lakes", recently entered the Duluth Harbor for winter layup and the final part of her journey was pretty amazing!

The Tregurtha, also known by the nickname "Fancy DeLancey", is the longest ship on the Great Lakes. Propelled by over 17,000 of engine horsepower, this 1,013.5-foot ship sailed under Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge on the evening of January 17, 2024 for a winter nap before getting back into service after a brief winter break.

The team behind DuluthHarborCam captured some pretty cool footage of the Tregurtha coming under the Aerial Lift Bridge and into the harbor, sharing the final time she'd pass under the bridge until getting going for the spring. While that footage (below) is pretty cool, the final leg of that trip to Fraser Shipyards is really impressive.

David Schauer of Schauer Photo Images captured a few photos of the Paul R. Tregurtha traveling under the Blatnik Bridge for Fraser Shipyards on January 18, showing just how massive of a ship it is and how skilled the team piloting the ship between the bridge's uprights has to be.

In order to get to Frasier Shipyards, the Tregurtha had to head under the Superior-side approach to the Blatnik Bridge, tightly-navigating between the support uprights of the bridge.

An overhead photo captured by Schauer shows a glimpse of the tight squeeze.

Schauer says he believes this is the first time the Tregurtha has spent time at Frasier Shipyards.  Video captured by Kelly Campy (below) shows a head-on view as the ship passes under the bridge, showing a limited amount of space between the side of the ship and the bridge.

Nice work!