The SS John G. Munson was built more than 64 years ago by Manitowoc Shipbuilding (and lengthened in 1976 by Fraser Shipyard) as a Great Lakes steamer. The 768 ft x 72 ft laker’s steam plant consisted of two Foster Wheeler Type D boilers, two 7,000 hp Westinghouse Steam Turbines, and two 600 kW GE SSTG and one 500 kW Caterpillar SSDG generator for its stern thruster. After a conversion and repowering at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in 2016 and 2017, the self-unloading bulker was reborn as the diesel-powered M/V John G. Munson. Its new propulsion plant is a 8,000 hp 6M43 MaK Tier 2 medium-speed diesel, with four 550 kW Caterpillar C18 SSDG generators, two Gesab oil-fired auxiliary boilers and one Gesab economizer. The propulsion plant was selected early on based on a feasibility study by NETSCo.
Under contract engineering, NETSCo developed a drawing package for shipyard bid estimating purposes. Additionally, it provided purchase technical specification preparation for owner-furnished auxiliary equipment vendor bid purposes. It also developed a detail engineering drawing package for shipyard installation purposes, and regulatory body plan approval for contract & detail engineering drawing purposes.*
Read the entire article about how the Lakes steamship SS John G Munson gets a new life as a diesel-powered self-unloader.
*Reprinted with permission Marine Log Magazine. Great Lakes Feature Issue. September 2017.
