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After 13 months away, the William A. Irvin is back home in Duluth. 

Crews towed the 610-foot-long retired freighter to its spot in the Minnesota Slip from Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wis., Wednesday evening, and then delicately steered the ship through a pedestrian lift bridge that crosses the entrance to the slip — with only 7 inches to spare on either side. 

It was a repeat of the operation last September — but in reverse. Last year, the ship was towed out of its longtime home in the slip, to allow for the cleanup of contaminated sediment underneath, part of an ongoing effort to remove old industrial pollution in the St. Louis River and Duluth-Superior harbor. 

The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, or DECC, which owns the ship — which doubles as a museum — and guides about 60,000 visitors through it every year, took advantage of the move to have the Irvin’s corroded hull repaired and repainted. 

That work was completed earlier this week, and a subsequent calm, mild forecast allowed crews to orchestrate the freighter’s return to Duluth. 

There were several elements that made it challenging, said Chase Dewhirst, a marine civil engineer who consulted with the DECC on the move. 

Threading the needle: Mammoth Duluth museum ship eased out of longtime berth

After more than a year away, museum ship William A. Irvin readies for return to Duluth

First, crews had to use winches to slowly pull the ship through the narrow opening in the bridge. To make sure the boat remained straight, it moved at a crawl — about one foot every four seconds. 

“It’s a really slow process,” said Dewhirst, “and that’s to minimize any potential damage.” 

The Irvin doesn’t have a working engine, rudder or ballast system to steer and balance the ship. So the ship rides high in the water, and catches the wind like a giant sail, Dewhirst explained. That’s why crews needed to move the ship on a day when winds would be below 10 mph. 

And unlike last year, when the ship could be pulled along the seawall in the slip to help it stay straight, four barges were set up outside the slip to help guide the ship through, this time around. 

The entire project — including the slip cleanup, the seawall repair and the removal and repair of the Irvin — cost about $11 million, said Duluth city administrator Jim Filby Williams. 

The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency contributed about $10 million for the work to the slip. A roughly $500,000 state historical preservation grant covered the cost of ship repair. And Duluth city tourism tax revenue paid for the roughly $1 million cost to transport the ship to Fraser Shipyards and back. 

The DECC plans to open the Irvin up to the public again next summer, after missing two tourist seasons while it was in Wisconsin. But first DECC executive director Chelly Townsend said the DECC plans to throw a party in the spring to officially welcome the ship back. 

“It has been gone for 13 months,” she said. “We’re so excited to have the William A. Irvin back to Duluth.”

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Dan Kraker

Author

After more than a year away, the William A. Irvin was towed back Wednesday night to its parking spot in Duluth’s Minnesota Slip. But to come back home, the ship had to repeat a painfully slow squeeze through a pedestrian bridge.

Derek Montgomery | Courtesy of Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center

A freighter ship passes through a pedestrian bridge. 

Returnin’ the Irvin: Floating museum comes home to Duluth

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