Here is the Presque Isle seen departing Duluth, Minnesota early on the afternoon of June 5, 2022. She had arrived in Duluth about five hours earlier to take a short delay at Port Terminal berth #1. She was waiting her turn to load taconite in Two Harbors, Minnesota, timing her arrival to coincide with the departure of the American Integrity from Two Harbors. Normally ships will anchor in the lake while waiting for their turn to load, so visiting Duluth must have had a secondary reason. This could have been a quick repair or a re-stocking of certain supplies.

The 1000-foot Presque Isle entered service in 1973. She is the only one of the thirteen 1000-footers on the Great Lakes that is a tug-and-barge combination, making her unique among ships of this size. The barge is the cargo section capable of carrying up to 57,500 tons of cargo. The tug section contains the engines, pilot house, and living quarters for the crew. Both sections are named Presque Isle, as both were built to only operate with each other, despite their ability to separate. Separating allows the tug section to get fueled or serviced on its own, without the need to bring along the cargo section. In practice, however, it appears they rarely separate except under rare circumstances. All remaining 1000-footers built after the Presque Isle are self-contained ships, with the engines, living quarters, bridge, and cargo section contained within one hull.

Onlookers will note a number of circular panels on the sides of the tugboat portion of the Presque Isle. These are "viking shields" that represent each crew member aboard the Presque Isle. (Half are on the port side and half are on the starboard side.) Each crew member gets to design their own shield, providing a unique way for crew members to decorate their vessel. Indeed, I am not aware of any other Great Lakes cargo vessel that has something like this. It's just another way that the Presque Isle is unique!

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