Thursday afternoon, there was a launch ceremony at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding for their latest creation, the Mark W. Barker, built for the Interlake Steamship Company. This 639-foot vessel had it’s keel-laying ceremony in June of 2020 and is now the first US-Flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier built in more than 35 years. Bay Ship General Manager Todd Thayse says there is still work to be done on the ship……
Thayse explains here the significance of this vessel, the fact that it was built here in Sturgeon Bay, and what duties lay ahead for the Mark W. Barker……
In his speech during the launch ceremony, Thayse thanked everyone involved with the ship’s production. Interlake Chairman James R. Barker shared stories of the ship’s planning, and Father Anthony Birdsall conducted the invocation prayer. Then a champagne bottle was smashed on the ship’s side by Helen Sharp, the wife of Interlake’s Director of Engineering Ian Sharp, as she introduced the vessel by name……
Multiple vessels then sounded the mariners’ “master salute” with their horns before attendees gathered to watch the dry dock fill with water. A few tugboats waited at the dry dock’s gate to guide the Mark W. Barker to it’s new slip for the remainder of the work to continue.
