Additional Damage Found on the William A. Irvin Vessel

No delays are expected.

DULUTH, Minn. – The William A. Irvin has been docked at the Fraser Shipyards in Superior for more than a month to undergo planned corrosion repairs.

but after further assessment of the vessel additional damage was discovered.

Officials say rivets on the bottom were found to also be corroded.

They say about 250 rivets were inspected, which is only one percent of the vessel’s nearly 100,000 rivets.

This particular kind of erosion is different from what is normally expected.

And now Irvin officials are weighing their options.

“The standards for this vessel are completely different from active vessels. So what we do with this is kind of unique and there is a possibility that we won’t do anything to the rivets,” said Marine Civil Engineer Chase Dewhirst.

Officials says the project is not expected to be delayed and it’s not known how much more the new corrosion discovery will cost.

They are planning to return the vessel back to the Minnesota Slip by October 1st.