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During our visit, the Equinox loaded 29,600 tons of Canadian wheat at one of the seemingly endless elevators that dot the waterfront at Thunder Bay, Ont., beneath the looming presence of one of the area's most striking natural features, Mount McKay. The cargo would be unloaded at Baie Comeau, Que., on the eastern end of the St. Lawrence Seaway, six days hence. Her stats are impressive. Algoma Equinox is 45 percent more efficient than older members of the fleet. It also operates with a closed-loop, exhaust gas scrubbing system that eliminates 97 percent of all sulfur oxide emissions coming from the stack. Exhaust and heat become water vapor. Solids and chemicals in the exhaust are collected, stored in a tank and disposed of ashore. Since this is the first application of an IMO-approved integrated scrubber on a Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway eat cet from the manufacturer were continuing to tweak the system as KYS ro For this trip, Capt. Seann O'Donoughue was relief oe fine; in oN regular skipper ‘apt. Ross Armstrong. Charlene Coady was first mate. Chief engineer was Francois Tremblay, and Yohan Laberge was second enone Chief cook was Cheryl Hobley, and second cook / baker was Abderrahmane Bou “We've got an energetic group of a nee is learning the new shi together and working as a team to learn the handling, ballasting, the new technology and where everything is stowed,” said O'Donoughue."The ship was bi international standards. We have to ‘Canadianize' it -make it specific to our Great Lakes trade. Just getting used to certain things — spotting the ship for the locks, handling the ship in the rivers, the higher speed — it’s a challenge.” The ship has an efficient design, with no sense that corners were cut in order to save money. There's even some wood trim in the hallways and in the pilothouse. Being a new boat, there's a conscious effort to keep her ecot and the sight of a crewman with a feather duster or a wax mop is common. Algoma Equinox rides smoothly compared to other diesel-driven ieee with noticeably less vibration and significantly less noise.