IMMEDIATE RELEASE             April 8, 2004

NOTE: A shipboard arrival ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, April 12, onboard the Kapitonas Andzejauskas at Superior’s CHS dock (at the foot of the Blatnik Bridge). Feel free to call the Port Authority to confirm ceremony details.

Duluth, Minn., U.S.A.—The Port of Duluth-Superior’s 2004 St. Lawrence Seaway navigation season is scheduled to officially open at approximately 9 a.m., Saturday, April 10, with the arrival of the Lithuanian-flagged Kapitonas Andzejauskas under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge.

The vessel will proceed to Superior’s CHS grain facility to load about 10,150 metric tons of wheat destined for Italy. It is scheduled to depart April 13.

The winner of the annual “First Ship Contest” sponsored by the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Duluth Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and 92 KQRS, Minneapolis, will be announced during the welcoming ceremony held for the vessel. The winner will receive a weekend getaway to Duluth, including hotel accommodations, meals and passes to local attractions.

The bulk carrier Kapitonas Andzejauskas was built in 1978 at Kherson Shipbuilding Factory, Ukraine. Commanded by Captain V. Voitko, the 479-foot vessel is operated by Lithuanian Shipping Company. Local agent for the vessel is Duluth’s Guthrie-Hubner, Inc.

The Welland Canal and Montreal-Lake Ontario sections of the Seaway System opened to navigation March 23 and March 25 respectively. The April 11 arrival of the Norwegian-flagged Menominee at Duluth’s Lake States Lumber Inc./Innovative Pine Technology marked last year’s first overseas arrival.

Oceangoing vessel arrivals for the past five years have been between April 2 and April 11. The Port’s earliest oceangoing vessel arrival since the 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway was April 1, 1995, with the arrival of the Indian vessel LT Argosy.

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CONTACT: Lisa Marciniak, Port Promotion Manager, phone 218-727-8525

More Press Releases, 2004