Scale of Industry (Photo)

I am lucky enough to have a job I love working in an industry and field that I find, well, worthwhile. I work in Great Lakes freighting--vessels up to a 1000 feet long running commodity all through the lakes. Mariners are union, the cargoes are huge, and it is hard to really explain the enormity of what can, and is, delivered.

A couple weeks ago I happened to be on a 1000 foot vessel still undergoing winter work before the start of the season. I took a picture that, frankly, I think illustrates just what it means to move things like iron ore and stone from mines and quarries to plants.



I was lucky enough to be able to enter a cargo hold and took this picture to capture the enormity of these chambers (You can see the temporary door that will be sealed before steaming on the back wall for a sense of scale). To put it in numbers, this is a hold, one of seven, on a thousand foot vessel. On average, this one hold will carry almost 10,000 tons of ore on a loaded leg--again, one of seven on a single vessel.

If you happen to live by the lakes or on a river system and you see these vessels moving ponderously around the water--keep in mind they're hauling the lifeblood of our housing and car industries (among others), the union jobs (for the most part) they provide, and the normal life that many mariners willingly give up to be on the water 24-7 for a 9 to 10 month operating season.