The black-oil tanker barge Norman McLeod was built at Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, in 2001. The 377-foot, 3-inch long vessel is owned by McAsphalt Marine Transportation Ltd. Together with the usual tug Everlast, the pair measures 500 feet long by 71 feet, 6 inches wide.

Norman McLeod was towed across the Pacific by the tug Haedong Star No. 99 but broke loose and was damaged in transit. The pair arrived at Montreal on August 22, 2001, and the barge was brought to Port Weller Dry Docks for repairs. It was finally able to begin trading in November 2001, and was linked to the tug Everlast.

Official christening took place at Port Colborne on February 19, 2002, and the 70,000-barrel capacity vessel has been active on the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic Seaboard carrying liquid asphalt and similar products.

Norman McLeod meets all new government standards and is fully double-hulled. The tug and barge are joined with an articouple linkage system and the 1,000 horsepower bow thruster is operated from the wheelhouse of the tug.

Norman McLeod touched bottom on the south side of Hamilton Island in the Lake St. Francis section of the St. Lawrence on Dec. 7, 2002. The ship was carrying asphalt from Hamilton to Valleyfield at the time but there was only minimal damage. The ship has also seen East Coast service during the winter months.

Adapted with permission from “The Ships of Upper Lakes Shipping” by Skip Gillham.