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Spectators crowded the L’Anse waterfront this afternoon (Thursday), as the cargo ship Palabora arrived at the CertainTeed dock. The Palabora is carrying 10 generators for use in new power plants in the region. She left Trieste, Italy, on May 1st.
The L’Anse port has not hosted a deep water ship in many years. It was pressed into service because the Marquette dock could not support the 350-ton generators. Some dredging had to be done to enable the Palabora to get close to the seawall. A tug gently nudged the vessel up to a barge, which spans about 15 feet between the seawall and the anchorage. The generators will be offloaded with a crane.
Seven of the generators will be shipped to the new Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation (UMERC) power plant being built near Negaunee via US-41 during nighttime trips over the next two weeks. The ultra-wide loads will move slowly, and will cause traffic delays. The remaining three generators will be moved to the new UMERC plant in Pelkie later this summer.
