IMMEDIATE RELEASE             April 8, 2005

Duluth, Minn., U.S.A.—A revised arrival time is now expected for the Port of Duluth-Superior’s first oceangoing vessel, which will kick off the Port’s 2005 St. Lawrence Seaway navigation season. The Bahamian-flagged Utviken is now scheduled to arrive at approximately noon on Monday (April 11) under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge (the vessel was originally scheduled to arrive earlier that day).

The vessel will proceed to Duluth’s Cargill grain facility to load about 18,000 metric tons of wheat destined for Italy. It is still scheduled to depart by April 14.

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

The Utviken, a frequent Port visitor, has been in the media before as it was the setting for scenes in “U.S. Marshals,” a 1998 film with Tommy Lee Jones and Wesley Snipes.

Commanded by Captain E. Panulaya, the 621-foot bulk carrier is owned by Wallem, Steckmest & Co. of Nassau, Bahamas, and chartered by Fedmar International, Montreal. The Utviken was built in 1984 at Factoria de Olaveaga, Bilbao, Spain. Local agent for the vessel is Fedmar International of Duluth.

The Welland Canal and Montreal-Lake Ontario sections of the Seaway System opened to navigation March 23 and March 25 respectively. The April 10 arrival of the Lithuanian-flagged Kapitonas Andzejauskas at Superior’s CHS grain facility marked the previous season’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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