The M/V Horizon Anchorage is a 700 foot long containership powered by a 21,000 horsepower B&W Diesel Engine. She was built in 1987 at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. She has two sister ships, the M/V Horizon Tacoma, and the M/V Horizon Kodiak. We took delivery of her in July of 1987 and brought her out through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Her beam (width) of 78 feet is the maximum allowed to transit the locks in the St. Lawrence. Even so, it was a close fit. We did some more contruction work on her in New Jersey at the Horizon dock in Elizabeth before bringing her around to the West Coast through the Panama canal.
She was specifically built to run between Puget Sound and Alaska. This trade route operates year round into Anchorage, Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, Alaska. This means that she has to be able to go into the ice in Anchorage, deal with the glacial silt in the water there, as well as be able to withstand the weather in what some consider to be one the stormiest bodies of water in the world.
The Anchorage has a crew of 20 people in 3 departments. The deck department is in charge of navigating the ship, and keeping track of the cargo. The Engine department keeps everything mechanical on the ship running, and the Stewards department keeps all of us fed and happy. The Captain, of course oversees it all
The Anchorage in Kodiak, Alaska. Click on the picture for an Engine Room Tour.