By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Sunday, July 20, 2025
LUDINGTON, Mich. — Just as the Spartan tug and Spartan II barge arrived at Ludington harbor Sunday afternoon, the boats participating in the week-long Ludington Offshore Classic fishing tournament’s final day also arrived back to port. The arrival made for a very busy channel for several minutes. Additionally, in the distance offshore were several sailboats participating in the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac.
The Spartan/Spartan II tug/barge combination is owned by Occidental Chemical and is used to transport calcium chloride out of the Ludington OxyChem plant.
The Spartan tug was built by Burton Shipyard, Port Arthur, Texas in 1969. It was called originally called the Lead Horse until 1973 when its name was changed to Gulf Challenger. In 1980, it was rechristened as the Challenger. From 1993 to 2010 it was called the Mark Hannah.
The Spartan is 121-feet long with a breadth of 31-feet and a depth of 10-feet. It operates on twin screws with 3,200 horsepower.
The Spartan II barge was built by Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. in 1980. It was called the Hannah 6301 until 2010. It is 407-feet long with a breadth of 60-feet and a depth of 21-feet. It is a double-hulled liquid barge that has a full capacity of 10,000 short tons. It typically hauls calcium chloride out of the Ludington OxyChem plant. It is equipped with three diesel pumps for offloading liquid cargo.
Both the tug and barge were purchased by Occidental Chemical in 2009 and the names were changed in 2010. The tug/barge is operated by Andrie, Inc. of Muskegon for OxyChem.
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