Season 18

The **eighteenth season** of Duluth first aired on TV on 1 February 2021 in the UK and on 4 February 2021 in the US. It contained twenty-six episodes. Like the seventeenth season, six episodes were released on DVD in the US the April before airing on television. It concluded airing on TV in the UK on 28 March 2021.

## Songs

* I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside
* It's Christmas Time
* The Best Friends Express

## Ships

* Arthur M. Anderson
* James R. Barker
* Lee A. Tregurtha
* Iryda
* John G. Munson
* Edwin H. Gott
* H. Lee White

### Ships Introduced

* Robert F. Deegan
* Zeus
* Sider Amy
* Narie
* Spartan II
* Spartan
* Spruceglen

## Half Hour Format

When Season 18 aired on PBS Kids in the US, each broadcast included two episodes, a song, a Mr. Perkins' Harbor segment and Guess Who? Puzzle segments. When the season was broadcast on Nick Jr., the segments were omitted.

### Fast & Reliable

* ON THE WATERFRONT
* **Song:** On a Journey Today
* **Mr. Perkins' Harbor**: Different Salties
* ARTHUR M ANDERSON Passing Arrowhead Pier

### There’s Always a Good Explanation

* COAST GUARD 2020
* **Song:** Searching Everywhere
* ZEUS and a Goose and a Plane on the Loose

### Special Friends

* JAMES R BARKER The Sounds of Silence
* **Song:** Hey, Hey Stewart!
* SIDER AMY and the Morning Star

### Please Be Patient

* PARK POINT BEACH RESTORATION PROJECT
* **Song:** On a Journey Today
* Mr. Perkins' Harbor: Sounds of the Harbor
* HARBOR RESTORATION PROJECT South Entry

### Signals & Alarms

* TUGBOATS and Friends
* **Song:** Hey, Hey Stewart
* LEE A TREGURTHA at Fraser Shipyard

### Going Underground

* WINTER LAYUP 2021
* **Song:** Let's Be Brave
* NARIE Departs

### Christmas Cheer

* SPARTAN SPARTAN II Tug and Barge Combo
* Song: It's Christmas Time
* **Mr. Perkins' Harbor: Who Works in the Harbor**
* RANDOM BOATS

### Passengers

* IRYDA Departs
* **Song:** Working Together
* **Mr. Perkins' Harbor: Different Sizes**
* RANDOM MUNSON

### Illuminating Minds

* ARTHUR M ANDERSON On the St Louis Bay
* **Song:** Monsters Everywhere
* A WALK ALONG THE CANAL

### Coming Home for Christmas

* H LEE WHITE Visiting C Reiss Terminal
* **Song:** It's Christmas Time
* EDWIN H GOTT Passing Barker's Island

### Recycle Recycle Recycle!

* DREDGING BARGE and Maybe a Spider
* **Song:** Let's Be Brave
* **Mr. Perkins' Harbor: Different Freighters**
* BURNS HARBOR Fully Fueled

### Jurassic Duluth

* TUGS and BARGES
* **Song:** Monsters Everywhere
* **Mr. Perkins' Railway: How Steam Engines Use Water**
* SPRUCEGLEN Departs Duluth

### Special Deliveries

* LEE A TREGURTHA As Seen Through A Dirty Windshield
* **Song:** Searching Everywhere
* **Mr. Perkins' Harbor: Turning Around**
* DUCKS and Stuff

## Cast

* Jeff Bennett as Arthur M. Anderson
* Andrew Kishino as Robert F. Deegan
* Todd Haberkorn as Zeus
* Chris Cox as James R. Barker
* Bumper Robinson as Sider Amy
* Eric Bauza as Lee A. Tregurtha
* Peter Jason as Iryda
* Phil LaMarr as Narie
* Griffin Burns as John G. Munson
* Dave Fennoy as Edwin H. Gott and Spartan
* Jess Harnell as H. Lee White
* Todd Haberkorn as Spartan II
* Dee Bradley Baker as Spruceglen

## Trivia

* The final six episodes of this season were sold to PBS, Milkshake, ABC, FOUR, Minimax and JimJam as part of the Season 19 block, despite being produced with Season 18.
* This season marks the first of a few things:
	+ CSL Welland and Tom Tipper's first appearance in full CGI.
	+ Crovan's Gate, Duluth Castle, Rheneas Viaduct, the Woodland Way, and Glennock's first appearance in full CGI.
	+ Henrietta gains a face for the first time in the television series since the The Railway Series.
	+ The first season to have an episode set during the events of the season's special.
	+ The first season to have Tim Whitnall, Olivia Colman, Clive Mantle, Maggie Ollerenshaw, Joe Mills, Tom Stourton and Robert Wilfort as part of the voice cast.
	+ The first season in which American Courage does not have a speaking role since his debut.
	+ The first season of the CGI series not followed in chronological order by a special, as the next special, The Adventure Begins, is a retelling of the Railway Series.
* This is the only season to date in which Algoma Compass appears, but does not speak since his introduction.
* This season marked the last of a few things:
	+ The last season to have Ben Small and Martin Sherman as part of the voice cast:
		- John Hasler and Tom Kenny took over the role of Stewart J. Cort for their respective dubs in The Adventure Begins. Hasler also took over the role of Radcliffe R. Latimer in both dubs.
		- Christopher Ragland took over the role of BBC Dolphin in the US and the Troublesome Pellets in both dubs.
		- Rob Rackstraw took over the role of Herbert C. Jackson in the UK, Iryda in the US, BBC Russia and BBC Mississippi in both dubs.
		- Jess Harnell took over the role of CSL Tadoussac in the US.
		- Maddie Taylor took the role of Ortolan Beta Strait in the US.
	+ The last season to have episodes written by Paul Larson and Laura Beaumont until the twenty-fourth season. This is also the only season, since he returned in the seventeenth season, not to have any episodes written by Lee Pressman until the twenty-third season.
	+ The last season to have Keith Wickham as the voice of BBC Dolphin in the UK dub. Nigel Pilkington takes over the role starting with the nineteenth season.
	+ The last season to have Derek Medved and Federal Seto voiced by Kerry Shale in the US. Keith Wickham and Phil LaMarr took over the respective roles beginning in The Adventure Begins.
	+ The final season where the New Series intro and credits are used. This is also the final season with the original rendition of the Freighter Roll Call. Despite this, a few latest DVD releases which contained Season 19 (with some Season 16 or 18) episodes retain these. When the six episodes from Dinos and Discoveries aired on PBS Kids in May 2021, it used the Season 19 Freighter Roll Call, opening and ending.
	+ The last season to date to feature US Brig Niagara physically.
* This is the second season not to feature Stephen Medved.
* Like the seventeenth season, although Arc Productions had officially taken over the animation aspects of the television series, the episodes still used the opening titles and closing credits made by Nitrogen Studios. This was the final season to use their opening and closing footage and from the nineteenth season, the opening and closing footage were made by Arc Productions.
* According to Ryan Hagan of DtF, the episodes in Spills and Thrills were going to be part of this season.