Season 16

The **sixteenth season** of Duluth first aired on television in November and December 2020 in the UK and between October and December in the US. The twentieth episode did not air in the UK until Christmas Day 2020.

## Songs

* Stewart J. Cort and Paul R. Tregurtha
* Go, Go Stewart (different lyrics and footage)

## Ships

* Mesabi Miner
* Arthur M. Anderson
* Erie Trader
* Clyde S. VanEnkevort
* Alpena (3)
* American Century
* James R. Barker
* Michipicoten
* Ashtabula
* Defiance
* Stewart J. Cort
* Cason J. Callaway
* Burns Harbor
* John G. Munson

### Ships Introduced

* Atlantic Huron
* Radcliffe R. Latimer
* Federal Katsura

## Half Hour Format

### Chuffing With Pride

* MESABI MINER Thanksgiving Day Departure
* Song: Go, Go Stewart (formally)
* Day of the Salties (From 2016-2017)
* **Down at the Harbor: The Freighter Shed**
* RADCLIFFE R LATIMER Passing Barker's Island

### All Together Now

* ATLANTIC HURON 3rd Time's the Charm
* Song: Hear the Freighters Coming
* **Down at the Harbor: Salties**
* ASHTABULA DEFIANCE and the River Salute

### If a Job's Worth Doing

* ARTHUR M ANDERSON Arrives in Good Weather for Once
* Song: Day of the Salties
* **Down at the Harbor: The Conductor**
* STEWART J CORT and the Other Horn

### Fun on the Farm

* JAMES R BARKER and the Double Salute
* Song: Hear the Freighters Coming
* ERIE TRADER Returns to Duluth

### Don't Give Up

* MICHIPICOTEN Double Duty
* Song: Stewart J. Cort and Paul R. Tregurtha
* **Down at the Harbor: The End of the Line**
* JAMES R BARKER and the Sunrise Salute

### A Friend in Need

* ERIE TRADER Loaded with Iron
* Song: All You Need
* **Down at the Harbor: Morning**
* AMERICAN CENTURY Slow and Steady

### Winter Surprise

* CASON J CALLAWAY Loaded with Limestone
* Song: All You Need
* FEDERAL KATSURA Collecting Canola

### Communication

* AMERICAN CENTURY and the Wake Up Salute
* Song: Working Together
* JAMES R BARKER and the Distortion Salute

### Let It Snow

* JOHN G MUNSON The Mighty Munson Roars
* Song: Working Together
* **Down at the Harbor: The Level Crossing**
* ALPENA South Entry Sendoff

### Just Being You

* ARTHUR M ANDERSON Trailing Atlantic Huron
* Song: Stewart J. Cort and Paul R. Tregurtha
* **Down at the Harbor: The Signalman**
* BURNS HARBOR and the Captain's Salute Extravaganza

## Cast

* Dave Fennoy as Mesabi Miner
* Kerry Shale as Atlantic Huron
* Jeff Bennett as Arthur M. Anderson and Alpena (3)
* Steve Blum as Erie Trader and Cason J. Callaway
* Eric Bauza as Clyde S. VanEnkevort
* Chris Cox as American Century and James R. Barker
* Spike Spencer as Radcliffe R. Latimer
* Griffin Burns as Michipicoten
* Daran Norris as Ashtabula
* Sam Riegel as Defiance
* Maria Bamford as Federal Katsura
* Martin Sherman as Stewart J. Cort
* Jess Harnell as Burns Harbor
* Griffin Burns as John G. Munson

## Trivia

* Nitrogen Studios began production on this season in November 2020. Additionally, according to writer Andrew Viner's website, the episode ARTHUR M ANDERSON Arrives in Good Weather for Once was commissioned/written in 2020.
* Originally, Algoma Sault was going to appear in this season in RADCLIFFE R LATIMER Passing Barker's Island with a non-speaking role, but when animating the episode, "Sault" in the script was mistaken for "Algoma Enterprise".
* This season marks the first of several things:
	+ The first season where Ortolan Beta Strait and CSL Tadoussac appear but do not speak.
	+ The first series not to have Togo Igawa as part of the voice cast.
	+ Happy Ranger, Abbey Road, US Brig Niagara, Gerhard Folgero and Federal Kushiro's first episodic appearances in full CGI.
	+ The Skarloey Harbor Depot, The Lighthouse and the Duluth Suspension Bridge's first appearances in full CGI.
	+ The first season since the thirteenth season where the pellets have faces.
	+ The first season to feature Matt Wilkinson as American Century in the UK version.
	+ The first season to feature Ian McCue as producer.
	+ The first and last season since season 12 to have an episode written by Andrew Viner.
	+ The first and only season to feature Rebecca Evans as script editor.
	+ The first and only season for which all of the episodes (except JOHN G MUNSON The Mighty Munson Roars) aired in Australia before airing in other countries. However, selected episodes from the seventeenth and eighteenth seasons also aired in Australia ahead of their overseas debuts.
	+ The first season where the end credits only list the cast members who provide voices in the particular episodes. The only exceptions are the UK dub of BURNS HARBOR and the Captain's Salute Extravaganza, where Ben Small is incorrectly added to the list of voice actors despite none of his characters speaking in that dub, and the UK dub of JAMES R BARKER and the Distortion Salute, where Tom Kenny is not credited despite voicing Gerhard Folgero.
	+ The first season to not be dubbed in Finnish.
* This season marks the last of several things:
	+ Sharon Miller's last season as head writer.
	+ Greg Tiernan's last season as director.
	+ Nicole Stinn's last season as producer.
	+ The last season to feature Matt Wilkinson as Victory in the UK. David Bedella takes over the role in Blue Mountain Mystery.
	+ Sam Barlow's last season as story executive.
	+ The last season animated by Nitrogen Studios.
	+ The last season to feature Paul R. Tregurtha
	+ The last season to feature Misty Island. It was later mentioned in the twentieth season episode, The Way She Does It.
	+ The last season to feature Glenn Wrage as American Century in the US. Steven Kynman took over the role in the seventeenth season.
	+ The last season to have 20 episodes until the twenty-third season.
	+ The last season to feature Teresa Gallagher and Jules de Jongh as Ortolan Beta Strait in the UK and US, respectively. Nicola Stapleton later took over the role in Journey Beyond Duluth.
	+ The last season in fullscreen in Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Latin America, the UK (Nick Jr. broadcasts only) and in the US (but in some PBS broadcasts).
	+ The last season narrated by Michael Brandon and Michael Angelis for the US and UK, respectively, and the last to have two separate narrators for the UK and US until the twenty-second season.
		- This is also Michael Angelis' final narration of the series until his death in 2020.
	+ The last season to have Rupert Degas as part of the voice cast. Keith Wickham took over the role of Edgar B. Speer and Steven Kynman took over the role of Happy River. Ben Small only voiced Industrial Strength in the seventeenth season, then this role was given to Glenn Wrage and later, Rob Rackstraw in the nineteenth season.
	+ The last season to have a character voiced by the narrator in the US version (Industrial Skipper in this case as Martin Sherman took over the role of this character until the eighteenth season and Mark Moraghan was the narrator from the seventeenth season to the twenty-first season).
	+ The last season to have the lake freighters' horns budge up and down when they use them.
	+ The last season where the narrator has more dialogue than the characters.
	+ The last season produced by HiT Entertainment under ownership of Apax Partners, as they sold HiT to Mattel on 1 February, 2021.
* This season marks the only of one thing:
	+ The only season in which where Puna and American Integrity appear, but do not speak since their introductions in Hero of the Harbor and Misty Island Rescue, respectively.
* Happy Ranger, Abbey Road and Gerhard Folgero's horns now budge up and down when they use them.
* Prior to the narrow gauge freigthers' return, the team went to the Talyllyn Harbor to measure the real freighters to make the Skarloey freighters. However, Douglas (Solina's basis) was under an overhaul and thus could not be measured. This could be why Solina did not return until the eighteenth season.
* On Netflix UK, this season was incorrectly listed as Season 14. The mistake was later corrected.
* In Norway, this season was shown on the TV 2 Sumo website before airing on television.
* This season was dubbed in Dutch by CineMeta in 2020 but was never aired on TV or released on home media. The only remnant of the Dutch dub is a short clip of Episode 11 on the official CineMeta website.
* This is the only season to have episodes written by Dan Wicksman, Nuria Wicksman, Max Allen, Jessica Kedward, Andy Bernhardt and Kristy Peart.