Note: Watch til the end if you want to enjoy nature’s light show.

Here is our favorite speedy boat, the Michipicoten, arriving just before 1:00am on May 18, 2024. She was arriving empty to load taconite pellets at the Canadian National dock in West Duluth for delivery to the Algoma Steel plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. With very little exception, this is the run we see from the Michipicoten whenever she visits Duluth. Some have come to give the Michipicoten the nickname "Soo Express" thanks to this frequent run. Even when she loads in Superior or Two Harbors, the destination is almost always Sault Ste. Marie.

This was a somewhat strange night in the Duluth harbor, with clear skies and moonlight directly overhead, but with storms passing just south of Duluth. Towards the end of the video, we see several lightning discharges in the atmosphere. The storms were far enough away that we couldn't hear any thunder associated with the lightning, but the light show was still fun to watch. Indeed, how many times can you see a ship illuminated both by moonlight and by lightning at the same time? The storms would later make their way over Lake Superior and put on a nice show for the Duluth Harbor Cam viewers. Lightning storms over Lake Superior can be both fascinating and frightening at the same time!

The 698-foot Michipicoten was launched in 1952, originally named the Elton Hoyt 2nd. She sailed for Interlake Steamship Company until she was laid up in 2001 due to lack of demand. She was then purchased by Lower Lakes Towing in 2003 and renamed the Michipicoten before starting work with her new owners. All of the Lower Lakes Towing ship are named after rivers. (Her fleet-mates include the Mississagi, Cuyahoga, and Saginaw... though the Mississagi was retired at the conclusion of the 2020 season and was scrapped.) In 2010, her steam turbine was replaced with a 6-cylinder 8,200 horsepower diesel engine. Her current cargo capacity is 22,000 tons.
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