What Are These Funny Small Orange Boats Around The Cruise Ship In Duluth?
I was coming down Mesaba Avenue this afternoon when I spotted the Viking Cruise Ship Octanis in the Duluth Harbor. It is really a beautiful sight! When I got home I pulled up the Duluth Harbor Cams to get a closer look when I noticed these little orange boats next to the large cruise ship. What were these? Are they some type of ferry? If that's the case, why do they even need them? Why not just pull up next to the DECC?
Some might even mistake them for a lifeboat, as they are bright orange and fully enclosed. In this case, the boats actually lower from the side of the ship like a lifeboat, but are used to get passengers to and from shore.
They are called tender boats, or just tenders, and are used when cruise ships can't moor at the dock.
If there's a reason a cruise ship can't pull right up to a dock, they anchor in deeper water and use these fully-enclosed tender boats to get passengers to and from shore. They are wide with a flat bottom for stability and covered to protect these luxury cruise passengers from the elements.
They actually get in and out of the tenders by using a small door that is right above the water line.
You can see the small door as the boat approaches. The Viking Octanis had two tenders running back and forth in Duluth on Tuesday. The ship departed Duluth for Mackinac around 5 pm.
Here's a video I found on YouTube that describes how these boats work.
If you ever see a ship in the port that you want a closer look at, make sure to check out Duluth Harbor Cam's multiple angles on YouTube.
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