Video Shows How Those Gigantic Wind Blades Get To Minnesota

For the last few decades, wind power has been growing in the United States. These wind turbines have enormous blades, and they are pretty difficult to transport.

The easiest way to get them to the Midwest and beyond is by boat. The United States' most inland port that has access to the Atlantic Ocean is right here in Duluth, Minnesota.

Ships can travel from the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes. Through a series of locks and channels, millions of tons of cargo can get to the middle of the country with a final destination here in Duluth.

My YouTube buddy Vibe With Mike posts some pretty cool videos of shipping in the Duluth harbor. He captured a ship with a load of these wind turbines on video.

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The ocean-going ship Stellar Maestro came into the port terminal on May 9th, 2024. He was monitoring the traffic and taking video from his pontoon boat in the bay. Here's the first look at the Stellar Maestro coming towards the lift bridge. It's actually the ship way off in the background.

When the ship comes under the lift bridge, you can see the scale of how big those blades really are. They look longer than the lift bridge!

They are stacked almost as high as the pilot house. How do they even see where they are going?

Mike then shows other blades on the docks waiting for transport. After this point, they load them up onto semi trucks and then haul them out with a State Patrol escort. They usually transport them overnight or in the very early morning hours to avoid traffic. They move pretty slowly, and it's quite the feat to maneuver these things through city streets.