James L. Kuber/Victory

The James L. Kuber was christened as an articulated tug barge (ATB) in March 2008 and commenced her inaugural ATB season in April. The James L. Kuber (JLK) was the third conversion that took place at the Menominee, Michigan dock of KK Integrated Logistics.

The Barge James L. is paired with the Tug Victory and hauls primarily limestone on Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie, picking up at quarries and delivering to customers.

Conversion

The process to convert the former steamship Reserve to an articulated barge commenced almost immediately upon reaching the KK Integrated Logistics' dock in Menominee, MI on August 1, 2007. The massive project included removing approximately 70' of length from the stern of the vessel. The crews removed the galleys and living areas and the entire engine room including generators, engines, and boilers. The vast majority of the work was completed by local crews in Menominee. On December 16, 2007, the barge was towed to Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI for dry-docking to remove the rudder post, returning to Menominee on January 4, 2008. The final phases of the conversion were then completed over the next three months.

March 2008 Christening

On March 29, 2008, the James L. Kuber — now an articulated barge – was christened at a ceremony at the Menominee dock. The James L. Kuber is named in honor of Tom Kuber's, KKIL/KKIS owner, late brother. Jim was a best friend and mentor to Tom, a husband, father, brother, navy man, business owner, and philanthropist. The ceremony included a welcoming by Tom to the nearly 150 guests in attendance. The outdoor ceremony was held on the KKIL dock on a crisp, sunny spring day. The attendees were welcomed with music and revelry, crews that worked on the conversion donned burgundy JLK caps for crowd recognition, and the vessel and her crew were blessed. In maritime tradition, the James L. Kuber was christened with the breaking of champagne across her bow. The christening was performed by Jim's two daughters, Marisa (Kuber) Timm and Laura (Kuber) Letter. The bottle smashed successfully, symbolizing a successful christening. Following the ceremony, attendees gathered for a luncheon at Riverside Country Club in Menominee.

History

James L. Kuber
The Reserve was built in 1953 as a steamship at Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, MI for the Columbia Transportation Co. division of Oglebay Norton Co., Cleveland, OH. The Reserve was one of eight similarly designed vessels built in the early 1950's for several carriers. These straight deck bulkers were contracted by their respective owners and built as a result of the post World War II domestic demand for iron ore.

The steamer Reserve was named after the Reserve Mining Co. with its iron ore pellet plant located at Silver Bay, MN, a company jointly owned by Armco and Republic Steel Corporations formed in 1950 and a significant customer of the Columbia Transportation fleet. Her naming followed a pattern at the time of Columbia naming a number of their vessels for steel mills or companies that were large customers of the fleet. The Reserve was originally built at 647' long but, due to increased cargo and vessel sizes, was lengthened by 120' during her winter lay-up of 1974 / 75.

In 1982, Oglebay Norton decided to convert the Reserve from a straight deck bulk carrier to a self-unloader with a system consisting of a single belt feeding a stern mounted 260' discharge boom that unloads at a rate of up to 5,357 tons per hour. The work was completed at Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Oglebay Norton owned the Reserve from the time of her launch until March 2006 when she was sold to an affiliate of KK Integrated Shipping. The Reserve sailed as a steamship for the first time for her new owners on April 24, 2006.

On July 31, 2007, the Reserve delivered her final load as a powered self-unloader from Port Inland, MI to the Western Lime Dock at Green Bay, WI. The next day, the Reserve arrived at the KK Integrated Logistics dock in Menominee, MI for her conversion to an articulated barge. The conversion was completed in April 2008 and the new articulated tug barge, James L. Kuber, sailed for her first voyage paired with the tug Victory on April 13, 2008.

Tug Victory

The Tug Victory launched in April 1981 for Texaco Marine Services in Port Arthur, TX. Signet Marine of Houston, TX purchased the Victory in 1990 (Texaco Marine continued operation of the vessel management) and Penn Maritime of Stamford, CT purchased the tug in January 2001 and operated her primarily from Slidell, LA.

KK Integrated Shipping purchased the Victory in 2006. KKIS planned to pair the tug with the James L. Kuber when the barge was converted from the steamship Reserve to ATB. From late 2006 to August 2007, the Victory was kept in Escanaba, MI, and converted to an articulated tug with the installation of a Hydraconn system and a heightened pilot house for her pairing with an articulated barge.

In August 2007, the tug Olive Moore was removed from the Lewis J. Kuber and brought to Escanaba for repairs and upgrades to her gear box. The Victory was placed with the Lewis J. Kuber for the remainder of the 2007 season to sea trial her conversion. Over the 2007/2008 winter lay up, while the James L. Kuber was being converted to an articulated tug barge at the KKIL Menominee, MI dock, the Victory also received additional upgrades at the Menominee dock in preparation for her ultimate pairing with the JLK in the 2008 season, including further heightening of her pilot house, new piping throughout the tug, two new state rooms built in the stern of the boat, and remodeling of existing state rooms.

Following the James L. Kuber christening on March 29, 2008, the JLK/Victory pairing departed Menominee, MI on April 13, 2008 for their first full season.

Dimensions

James L. Kuber / Victory

Overall Dimensions (metric)
	Before Barge Conversion	After Barge Conversion
Length	767' 00" (233.78m)	703' 08" (214.48m)
Combined Length (with articulated tug Victory in notch)	NA	815' 02" (248.46m)
Beam	70' 00" (21.34m)	70' 00" (21.34m)
Depth	36' 00" (10.97m)	36' 00" (10.97m)
Capacity (mid-summer)	25,500 tons (25,910 mt) at draft of 27' 00" (8.23m)	25,500 tons (25, 910 mt)

Victory

Dimensions (metric)
Before Barge Conversion	After Barge Conversion
Length (overall)	140' 00" (42.68m)
Length (registered, between perpendiculars)	129' 00" (39.32m)
Beam	43' 01" (13.13m)
Depth	18' 00" (5.49m)
Gross Tonnage	194 tons
Power (diesel)	7,880 b.h.p. (5,796 KW)