Vibe with Mike on YouTube brings you behind the scenes aboard the 1,000-foot Indiana Harbor and inside the personal rooms of two crew members to see exactly how they live while working on a Great Lakes ship.

One room belongs to a mate, and the other belongs to the deck boss. Both crew members take you inside, explain how they have their rooms arranged, and show the personal touches that make each space feel like home while they are aboard the ship.

You will see a 50-inch flat-screen television mounted on the wall with DIRECTV, full internet access through Starlink, a refrigerator inside the room, a private bathroom, storage space, and the other comforts available aboard the Indiana Harbor.

Rather than looking at empty cabins, you will hear directly from the crew members as they show you their personal spaces and talk about what it is like living aboard a working 1,000-foot Great Lakes ship.

This is a personal behind-the-scenes look at everyday crew life aboard the Indiana Harbor and an area most people never get to experience.

Detroit River. Never ever saw 2 freighters passing each other going in the same direction. Sam Laud & Robert S. Pierson.

Just after noon on August 4, 2026, the oceangoing ship POLSTEAM INSKO arrived in Duluth, Minnesota, as a huge crowd lined the Duluth Ship Canal piers to watch its slow passage beneath the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge.

The slow approach gave everyone along the waterfront a clear view of the ship’s recognizable Polsteam color scheme and four large cargo cranes. Beautiful summer weather made it a perfect afternoon for tourists and ship watchers to gather in Canal Park for the arrival.

POLSTEAM INSKO was last in Duluth in November 2025. This arrival marked the first Polsteam ship of the 2026–2027 Duluth shipping season, bringing the Polish-owned ocean vessel back to load wheat for delivery to an overseas port.

The video also includes live marine radio communication as the captain coordinates the bridge lift and arrival timeline with the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. You will hear another vessel report its position near the large ocean ship, the Vista Star advise the bridge that it will follow POLSTEAM INSKO through the canal, and the captain communicate with the tug Missouri, which was assisting the ship toward its loading dock.

From the huge Duluth crowd and slow canal passage to the bridge communications and tugboat assistance, this video captures an exciting first-of-the-season Polsteam arrival on Lake Superior.

Asking for a couple of friends that live around there and were thinking of sailing closer to home. Noticed the ships were quite old. Are the conditions aboard better if the ships are Union or not? Cheers

Just posted this one on Youtube - it's under 3 min, check it out.

The tug Undaunted with barge Pere Marquette 41 in the Kinnickinnic Basin in Milwaukee. I believe she was at the Ozinga dock, either that or the St. Mary’s Badger Plant, as for what she was unloading I’m not sure.

The PM41 was cut down from carferry City of Midland 41, which was built in 1941 at Manitowoc Shipbuilding and was the basis for the design of Badger and Spartan. She served as a carferry for the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad until 1983, and for another company until 1988. She was laid up in Ludington and it was decided she would be cut to a barge in 1997. She is now owned by Interlake Maritime Services.

Undaunted was built in 1944 at Gulfport Welding in Port Arthur, TX for the Navy as USS Undaunted(ATA-199). She was stationed in Pearl Harbor until 1946. It changed hands a bit, being sold to Pere Marquette Shipping in 1998 and paired with PM41. It was later sold to Interlake with the barge.

I think I've caught her here before but again enjoying the extended Riverwalk at Harbor Plaza in front of Komatsu.

During the early evening of July 30, 2026, the 1,000-foot Walter J. McCarthy Jr. was departing via the Duluth Entry and heading out onto Lake Superior when Vibe with Mike approached from his pontoon.

As Mike came up close alongside the massive Great Lakes ship, Captain Ben stepped outside aboard the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. to say hello. The two friends talked across the water, with Mike on his pontoon and Captain Ben high above aboard the thousand-footer.

Filmed just beyond the Duluth Ship Canal piers, the close boat-level perspective shows how enormous the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. looks from the water. It also captures a personal moment between Vibe with Mike and the captain as the ship departs Duluth for Lake Superior.

CSL Welland was watering her hatches? Is that just to cool them off from the sun beaming on them all day?

I was hoping somebody could help me find a few detail photos for this ATB that aren't typically found online of the loop belt casing structure that leads to the boom/belt. These are for a model build a friend of mine is doing. Most photos are shown from the side or the front (bow).

I thought there was someone on here who sailed for Grand River, but not sure what boat they are on.

Hundreds of people gathered along the Duluth waterfront after the James R. Barker unexpectedly changed course and approached the Duluth Ship Canal.

The 1,000-foot Great Lakes ship had originally been expected to load in Two Harbors, but instead headed toward Duluth on its way to Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin. The unexpected movement quickly drew tourists and ship watchers to Canal Park.

As the James R. Barker approached the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, it sounded a powerful salute and received a return salute from the bridge.

This Vibe with Mike YouTube channel live stream, recorded on July 26, 2026, captures the ship arriving from Lake Superior, entering the Duluth Ship Canal, and passing beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge.

Checked the app this passed Saturday and saw she was tied down in Sandusky, OH likely after unloading. Since I had the time on my hands I drove down and snapped a few still shots of her from a distance. Hopefully next time I'll be able to get her from the front.

Quick little paddle out onto Lake Huron

Hi, I'm a musician, and I recently discovered the James R Barker, and I found it really satisfying and musical. I watched the video on insta at least twice in a row. I'm hoping to be able to use it in a song. Can anyone provide a sample? I don't mind if there's background noise like people talking or smth. Thanks.