he Federal Nagara arrived under Duluth's Aerial Lift
Bridge at 6:05 a.m. on April 21, becoming the first
oceangoing vessel to complete a full transit of the St.
Lawrence Seaway and reach the Port of Duluth-Su-
perior during the 2025 navigation season.
Along with earning First Ship honors, the Fednav vessel also
distinguished herself as the port's latest-arriving first saltie
since 2014, when the Antigua-flagged Diana established a
record with her ice-delayed May 7 arrival.
Federal Nagara, captained by R.C. Sanjeewa and crewed by 23,
also endured an ice delay, but only briefly, at the Soo Locks in
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The vessel's arrival in Duluth coincided
with a weather system that dampened her deck and dumped
more than an inch of snow atop the Zenith City hillside.
Built in Japan and flying the Marshall Islands flag, Federal
Nagara departed Germany 's Port of Bremen in late March,
carrying German-manufactured machinery destined for
Duluth's Clure Public Marine Terminal, and eventually, a
Red River Valley sugarbeet processing plant in North Dakota.
Wet
welcome
for First
Ship
DULUTHPORT.COM |
7
PHOTOS / David Schauer
Sri Lankan Captain R.C. Sanjeewa (above left) sailed the Federal
Nagara through rough seas in the North Atlantic and ice in the St.
Marys River before arriving under Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge on April
21, 2025. It marked his first time in the Port of Duluth-Superior and his
first time earning First Ship honors in any port.
T
