Algoma takes delivery of ship with exhaust scrubber

   Canada’s Algoma Central Corp. said Algoma Harvester, the second in a fleet of six new bulk ships equipped with exhaust gas scrubbers that it is building for use on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, was christened in Hamilton, Ontario, on Thursday.
   The ships will move products primarily for agricultural, and iron and steel customers.
   The Equinox-class ships have been designed to optimize fuel efficiency and operating performance. The company said a 45-percent improvement in energy efficiency over Algoma’s current fleet average is expected because of a modern Tier-II compliant engine, increased cargo capacity and an improved hull form. The IMO approved exhaust gas scrubber will remove 97 percent of all sulfur oxides from shipboard emissions. Algoma is the first company to use an IMO-approved integrated scrubber on a Great Lakes – St. Lawrence vessel class.
   “We have been extremely pleased with the performance of the first Equinox Class vessel, the Algoma Equinox, since she joined the Algoma fleet last November,” said Greg Wight, president and chief executive officer of Algoma.
   Algoma took delivery of the Algoma Harvester on May 13, and the vessel departed from the shipyard in China on May 18. The Algoma Harvester picked up its first load of cargo at Port Cartier, Quebec, on July 11, following a 54-day voyage across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal to get to Canada. The first cargo of iron ore, which has set a new record size, was to be delivered to ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton immediately following the christening.
   The Algoma Harvester and Algoma Equinox, are part of Algoma’s 32-vessel Canadian flagged Great Lakes fleet. Algoma is investing $300 million to construct the six Equinox-class vessels with two additional Equinox Class vessels currently under construction for the Canadian Wheat Board. The CWB ships will be managed by Algoma as part of the fleet serving its customers in and around the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Waterway.
   The Algoma Harvester will make regular voyages from ports on Lake Superior such as Thunder Bay and Superior/Duluth to Port Cartier, Quebec City, and Baie Comeau in the St. Lawrence. In between, the maximum seaway-size bulker will visit other ports such as Contrecoeur, Hamilton, Toledo, Chicago and Milwaukee during the course of a navigation season.