08/18/2026
Visit: Marblehead, Ohio.
Date: August 16, 2026
Vessel: Joyce L. Vanekevort and barge Great Lakes Trader
Loading process on display and crew at work (in the rain).
Short video and stills included.
Enjoy!
Historical Info courtesy of BoatNerd (George Wharton)
Built for Great Lakes Marine Leasing and operated by Van Enkevort Tug and Barge of Escanaba, MI. Great Lakes Trader is pushed by the 135 foot tug Joyce L. Van Enkevort, which was built in 1998 by Bay Shipbuilding Co., Sturgeon Bay, WI. The tug is powered by two 5,100 b.h.p. Caterpillar 3612 12-cylinder diesel engines.
Great Lakes Trader was constructed in two halves at Halter Marine’s yard in Pearlington, MS and then towed to the New Orleans yard to be joined together and outfitted. The tug sailed from the Great Lakes to New Orleans to be mated up with the newly finished barge for the return trip back to the Great Lakes. The pair departed the Gulf on May 28, 2000, and arrived on the lakes in mid-June after transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway. Special care had to be used in transiting the locks because of her size.
The Trader is the 16th largest carrier on the Great Lakes, with maximum seaway dimensions of 740 x 78 feet. Her cargo capacity is 39,600 tons. The Great Lakes Trader loaded its first cargo of taconite for Indiana Harbor, June 23, 2000 in Escanaba. Since then she has been a frequent visitor, not only to Escanaba, but to Lake Superior ports, carrying ore for various customers around the lakes and stone cargoes to various ports.
