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Lake Freighter

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Lake freighter



 
 
Lake freighters, or Lakers, are cargo
Cargo

Cargo refers to goods or produce transported, generally for Commerce gain, by Cargo ship, Cargo airline, Train#Freight trains, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal freight transport long-haul cargo transport....
 vessels that ply the Great Lakes
Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
. The most well-known is the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS Edmund Fitzgerald

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American lake freighter launched on 8 June 1958. Until the 1970s, she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Although it had reported having some difficulties during a gale on Lake Superior, the Fitzgerald sank suddenly on 10 November 1975 in 530 Foot of water without sending any distress signals....
, the latest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, not ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the Lakes but by the early 21st century, there were fewer than 140 active lakers. Visiting ocean-going vessels are called "salties." Due to their additional beam
Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point, or at the mid-point of its length. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position....
, very large salties are never seen inland of the Saint Lawrence Seaway
Saint Lawrence Seaway

The St. Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior....
.






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Lake freighters, or Lakers, are cargo
Cargo

Cargo refers to goods or produce transported, generally for Commerce gain, by Cargo ship, Cargo airline, Train#Freight trains, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal freight transport long-haul cargo transport....
 vessels that ply the Great Lakes
Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
. The most well-known is the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS Edmund Fitzgerald

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American lake freighter launched on 8 June 1958. Until the 1970s, she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Although it had reported having some difficulties during a gale on Lake Superior, the Fitzgerald sank suddenly on 10 November 1975 in 530 Foot of water without sending any distress signals....
, the latest major vessel to be wrecked on the Lakes. These vessels are traditionally called boats, not ships. In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the Lakes but by the early 21st century, there were fewer than 140 active lakers. Visiting ocean-going vessels are called "salties." Due to their additional beam
Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point, or at the mid-point of its length. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position....
, very large salties are never seen inland of the Saint Lawrence Seaway
Saint Lawrence Seaway

The St. Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior....
. Because the largest of the Soo Locks
Soo Locks

The Soo Locks allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year. This is achieved in spite of the locks' being closed during the winter, from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes....
 is larger than any Seaway lock, salties that can pass through the Seaway may travel anywhere in the Great Lakes. Because of their deeper draft, salties may accept partial loads on the Great Lakes, "topping off" when they have exited the Seaway. Similarly, the largest Lakers are confined to the Upper Lakes (Superior
Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, United States, and to the south by the U.S....
, Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
, Huron
Lake Huron

Lake Huron, bounded on the west by the U.S. state of Michigan, and on the east by the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario, Canada, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America....
, Erie
Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time....
) because they are too large to use the Seaway locks, beginning at the Welland Canal
Welland Canal

The Welland Canal is a ship canal that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St....
 that bypasses the Niagara River
Niagara River

The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It serves as part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States....
.

Depending on their application, lakers may also be referred to by their type, such as oreboats (primarily for iron ore), Straight Deckers (no self-unloading gear), bulkers (carry bulk cargo), sternenders (all cabins aft), self unloaders (with self unloading gear), longboats (due to their slender appearance), or lakeboats, among others.

Cargo

Lakers are generally bulk carrier
Bulk carrier

A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds....
s, that is they carry loads of rocks, salt or grain in large holds - not in containers. The earlier ships required unloading machinery
Hulett

The Hulett automatic ore unloader was invented by George Hulett of Ohio in the late 1800s; he received a patent for his invention in 1898. The first working machine was built the following year at Conneaut Harbor in Conneaut, Ohio....
 at the docks but modern Lakers are self unloaders which allows them to unload faster and in more ports.

The most common cargoes on the Great Lakes are taconite
Taconite

Taconite is an iron-bearing, high-silica, flint-like rock. It is a Precambrian sedimentary rock referred to as a banded iron formation due to the typical alternating iron-rich layers and shale or chert layers....
, which is a type of iron ore; limestone
Limestone

File:Limestone Formation In Waitomo.jpgLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geology record....
, grain
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
, salt
Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
, coal
Coal

Coal is a readily combustion black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure....
, cement
Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together....
, gypsum
Gypsum

Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula calciumsulfuroxygen4?2water....
, sand
Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.As the term is used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 to 2 millimeters....
, slag
Slag

Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to purify metals. They can be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides; however, they can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form....
 and potash
Potash

Potash is the common name given to potassium carbonate and various mined and manufactured salts that contain the element potassium in water-soluble form....
. Much of the cargo supplies the steel mills for the auto industry which was centered around the Great Lakes, because of the ease of Lake transport. Other destinations include coal-fired power plants and stone docks, where limestone is unloaded for the construction industry.

Size

The largest vessels on the lake are the 1000 footers (300 m). These vessels are between 1000 and 1013.5 feet (305 and 309 m) long, 105 feet (32 m) wide and of 56 feet (17 m) hull depth. They can carry as much 78,850 long ton
Long ton

Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial unit system of measurements, as formerly used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth of Nations countries....
s of bulk cargo although their loading is dependent on lake water levels especially in the channels and ports. A dozen of these giant ships were built, all constructed between 1976 and 1981, and all are still in service today. The most powerful of these, the Edwin H. Gott , carries two Enterprise DMRV-16-4 diesel engines driving twin propeller
Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan which transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. It can be used to drive an fixed-wing aircraft, ship, or the fluid within a pump....
s and is rated at 19,500 brake horsepower, making the Gott the most powerful lake boat on the seaway. (14.5 MW). This allows a top speed of 16.7 mph (27 km/h). The Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest boat on the lakes, at 1013'6" and 68,000 gross ton capacity. The Stewart J. Cort, which is not only the first 1000-footer to be put into service on the Lakes, but also the only one built in the traditional wheelhouse-forward Great Lakes style (although all accommodations are forward, and the stern deckhouse is occupied by self unloading equipment and the engines), is another notable vessel. The Cort started life in Mississippi, and was sailed as a much smaller vessel consisting of only the bow and stern sections (appropriately nicknamed "Stubby"), to Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Erie tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth largest city , with a population of 104,000....
 , where she was cut in half and an additional 800+ feet of hull were added. Another interesting 1000-footer is the Presque Isle, an integrated tug and barge combination. The Presque Isle is the largest tug / barge composite in the world. All of the 1000-footers are United States vessels. The Canadian fleet needs to travel to and from its major cities along the St. Lawrence Seaway so the standard length for the Canadian vessels is around 730 feet (Seawaymax
Seawaymax

The term Seawaymax refers to vessels which are the maximum size that can fit through the canal locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Seawaymax vessels are 740 feet in length, 78 feet wide, and have a draft of 26 feet ....
-size). The reason for this standard length, is the Welland Canal
Welland Canal

The Welland Canal is a ship canal that runs 42 km from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie to Port Weller, Ontario on Lake Ontario. As part of the St....
 which bypasses Niagara Falls. The locks here are only about long, and for safety reasons, the vessels must be at most .

More common are lake boats in the 600 and 700 foot (183 and 213 m) classes, due to the limitations of the Welland Canal. These vessels vary greatly in configuration and cargo capacity, being capable of hauling between 10,000 and 40,000 tons per trip depending on the individual boat. The latest major vessel built for bulk cargoes on the lakes is the articulated tug/barge combo Samuel De Champlain/Innovation. The barge Innovation and the tug Samuel de Champlain entered service in 2006 hauling cement for LaFarge, operated bt Andrie, Inc.

List of 1000-footers on the Lakes

  • Bulk freighters (self unloaders)
    • American Integrity (1000'x105')
    • American Spirit (1004'x105')
    • American Century (1000'x105')
    • Edgar B. Speer (1004'x105')
    • Edwin H. Gott (1004'x105')
    • James R. Barker (1004'x105') 1st standard construction 1000-footer
    • Mesabi Miner (1004'x105')
    • Paul R. Tregurtha (1013'6"x105') Largest vessel on Great Lakes
    • Stewart J. Cort (1000'x105') 1st 1000 ft boat on the Lakes
    • Burns Harbor (1000'x105')
    • Indiana Harbor (1000'x105')
    • Walter J. McCarthy Jr. (1000'x105')
  • Tug/barge combination (ATB)
    • Presque Isle (1000'x104'7") Only 1000 foot tug/barge unit


Design

Welland Canal John B Aird
Since these vessels all have to proceed through the locks of the Great Lakes Waterway
Great Lakes Waterway

The Great Lakes Waterway is a system of channels and canals that makes all of the Great Lakes accessible to oceangoing vessels. Its principal civil engineering components are the Welland Canal, bypassing Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the Soo Locks, bypassing the rapids of the St....
 they have features in common, and their appearance differs from similar sized ocean-going freighters. They are narrower and generally longer. An early variation of the type (designed by Alexander McDougall and built from 1887 through 1898) was the "whaleback
Whaleback

The whaleback was a cargo steamship of unique design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal--leaving, when fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull with its "whaleback" above the waterline....
" design, which featured significant tumblehome
Tumblehome

In ship design the tumblehome is the narrowing of a ship's hull with greater distance above the water-line. Expressed more technically, it is present when the Beam at the uppermost deck is less than the maximum beam of the vessel....
 in the sides of the hull and a rounded bow, looking rather like the back of a whale
Whale

Whales are marine mammals of order Cetacea which are neither dolphinsmembers, in other words, of the families Oceanic dolphin or River dolphinnor porpoises....
 (hence the name). Where the superstructure of an ordinary freighter used to have the bridge in the center of the vessel, lake freighters typically have the bridge and associated superstructure on the bow. Traditionally they had a second island, over the engine room in the stern. These dual cabined boats were constructed between 1869 and 1974. The R.J. Hackett premiered the style and the second Algosoo was the final vessel designed this way. More recently built lakers, like the CSL Niagara, have a single large superstructure island right astern.
Soo Locks Sault Ste Marie
Lakers differ from most salties in having bluff bows instead of raked or clipper bows and rarely have bulbous bow
Bulbous bow

The bulbous bow, a standard feature of most large, modern ships with displacement Hull , is a protruding bulb at the bow below the waterline....
 extensions (Note: A few Canadian Lakers are fitted with ice-breaking bulbous bows). The narrow, raked bow of a saltie allows it more speed, while a bluff bow allows for more cargo capacity at a given draft, but pushes more water. Vessel speeds are not as important on the Lakes as on the ocean. The distance between ports is less than ocean trade, therefore cargo capacity is more important than speed. The Lake vessels are designed with the greatest box coefficient in order to maximize the vessels size in the many locks within the Great Lakes/St Lawrence Seaway system. Therefore, ship designers have favored bluff bows over streamlined bows. Following World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, several ocean freighters and tankers were transported to the Great Lakes and converted to bulk carriers as a way to acquire ships cheaply. Several of them served well in the role and continue to sail today (American Victory (fmr. Middletown), Lee A. Tregurtha, and a few others).

Another distinguishing feature of Lake vessels versus Ocean vessels is the cargo hatch configuration. On the Lake vessels, the hatches are traditionally spaced 24 feet (7.8m) apart. This configuration was needed to match the hatches to the loading facilities. At the turn of the 19th century, most ore loading facilities had loading chutes spaced every 12 feet (3.8m). The ship designers used this pattern for their hatch configuration. This pattern continues today, even with modern Lake vessels. A Lake vessel has many more hatches than an Ocean vessel of equal length.

The largest deep lock at the Soo
Soo Locks

The Soo Locks allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year. This is achieved in spite of the locks' being closed during the winter, from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes....
 is the Poe Lock which is 1,200 feet (370 m) long and 110 feet (34 m) wide. Because of size restrictions, thirty vessels on the lakes can only pass between Lake Superior
Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, United States, and to the south by the U.S....
 and Lake Huron
Lake Huron

Lake Huron, bounded on the west by the U.S. state of Michigan, and on the east by the Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario, Canada, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America....
 using the Poe lock although none approaches the lock's size. Many Lakers are restricted to the Lakes, being unable to navigate the St Lawrence Seaway whose locks allow a maximum vessel size of 740 feet (226 m) in length or 78 feet (24 m) in breadth. The shallow draft imposed by the rivers (typically dredged to about 28 feet (8.5m) by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public services engineering, design and construction management agency....
) restricts the cargo capacity of Lakers, but that is partially recovered by their extra length and box design. Since Great Lakes waves never achieve the great length or period of ocean waves, particularly compared to the waves' height, ships are in less danger of being suspended between two waves and breaking, so the ratio between the ship's length, beam and its depth can be a bit larger than that of an ocean-going ship. The Lake vessels generally have a 10:1 length to beam ratio, whereas the Ocean Vessels are typically 7:1. The dimension of locks is the determining factor in Lake vessel construction.

Lifespan


Since the freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 lakes are less corrosive to ships than the salt water
Seawater

Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%, or 35 parts per thousand . This means that every 1 kg of seawater has approximately 35 grams of sea salt ....
 of the oceans, many of the Lakers remain in service for long periods and the fleet has a much higher average age than the ocean-going fleet. Boats older than 50 years are not unusual, and account for more than half of the fleet. The St. Mary's Challenger, built in 1906 as the William P Snyder (552 ft), is currently the oldest boat in active duty on the Lakes. She is managed by HMC Ship Management, LTD. and owned by St. Mary's Cement, a subsidiary of Votorantim Cimentos. The E.M. Ford had the one of the longest careers, having been built in 1898 (as the Presque Isle - 428 feet) and still sailing the lakes 98 years later in 1996. In 2007 she was still afloat as a stationary transfer vessel at a riverside cement silo in Saginaw. She went to the scrap yard in Nov. 08. The J.B. Ford, built in 1904, last sailed in 1985 and in 2007 served in the same capacity as the E.M. at a different cement silo in Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin

The city of Superior sits at the junction of U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 53, and is the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, United States....
. Several decorated World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 veteran ships are still in active, although civilian, use such as the tankers Chiwawa and Neshanic, now the bulk freighters Lee A. Tregurtha and American Victory, respectively, and the Landing Craft Tank
Landing craft tank

The Landing Craft, Tank was an amphibious assault ship for landing tanks on beachheads. The first examples appeared during the Second World War....
 203, now the working vessel Outer Island.

Ship losses and accidents


The Great Lakes have a long history of shipwreck, groundings, storms and collisions. From the 1679 sinking of Le Griffon
Le Griffon

Built by Ren? Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Le Griffon is considered to have been the first full-sized sailing ship on the upper Great Lakes of North America....
 with its cargo of furs to the 1975 loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald, thousands of ships and thousands of lives have been lost; many of these losses involved vessels in the cargo trade. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located in Chippewa County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is on the northeastern portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on Whitefish Point which forms the northern end of Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior....
 uses the approximate figures of 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives lost. David D. Swayze has compiled a list which details over 4,750 well-documented shipwrecks, mostly of commercial vessels and a list of known names of over 5,000 victims of those sinkings.

The most recent losses of modern lakers were (with their causes):
  • SS Henry Steinbrenner, May 11, 1953, Lake Superior, 14 of 31 crew died, (flooded after cargo hatch covers lost during storm)
  • SS Carl D. Bradley
    SS Carl D. Bradley

    The was a self-unloading Great Lakes Lake freighter. Built in 1927 by the American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio, the Bradley was owned by the Michigan Limestone division of U.S....
    , November 18, 1958, Lake Michigan, 24 of 26 crew died, (split in half due to hogging during storm)
  • SS Cedarville, May 7, 1965, Straits of Mackinac, 10 of 35 crew died, (collision with the saltie Topdalsfjord)
  • SS Daniel J. Morrell
    SS Daniel J. Morrell

    The SS Daniel J. Morrell was a Great Lakes freighter that broke up in a strong storm on Lake Huron on 29 November 1966, taking with it 28 of its 29 crewmen....
    , November 29, 1966, Lake Huron, 28 of 29 crew died, (split in half due to hogging during storm)
  • SS Edmund Fitzgerald
    SS Edmund Fitzgerald

    SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American lake freighter launched on 8 June 1958. Until the 1970s, she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Although it had reported having some difficulties during a gale on Lake Superior, the Fitzgerald sank suddenly on 10 November 1975 in 530 Foot of water without sending any distress signals....
    , November 10, 1975, Lake Superior, 29 of 29 crew died, (unknown cause during storm)
The salties Prins Willem V and Monrovia also sank in the Great Lakes during the 1950s; both in collisions with other ships.

Ships on the Lakes have been involved in many lesser incidents. Lakers have been subject to frequent groundings in port and canals due to varying lake levels and silting, collisions with objects (such as the 1993 collision of the Indiana Harbor with the Lansing Shoal Lighthouse), icing in during winter trips and shipboard fires (including the unusual case in 2001 where a drawbridge ran into the Canadian grain carrier Windoc causing a fire). To prevent collisions and groundings, the Great Lakes are well-served with ligthhouses and lights, floating navigation aids, and Loran stations. The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard

The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada.It is the civilian federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue on its national portion of international waters such as the Great Lakes and St....
 maintain stations around the Great Lakes including icebreakers and helicopters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies mantain the harbors and seaways to limit groundings.

November is the traditional last month of shipping before the winter layup (and lake freeze-up). This month sees much of the worst weather of the navigation season and has seen a disproportionate number of accidents. Dana Bowen mentions that one-third of all vessel lost to foundering between 1900-1950 were lost during November and also that over half of all strandings in that time period occured in November.

Famous boats

The most famous laker was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS Edmund Fitzgerald

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American lake freighter launched on 8 June 1958. Until the 1970s, she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Although it had reported having some difficulties during a gale on Lake Superior, the Fitzgerald sank suddenly on 10 November 1975 in 530 Foot of water without sending any distress signals....
 (popularized by Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr., Order of Canada, Order of Ontario is a Canada singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music....
's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is a song written, composed, and performed by Gordon Lightfoot in commemoration of the sinking of the bulk carrier S.S....
" in 1976), which sank on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. The Fitz was the first boat with a length of and the flagship of the Columbia Steamship Division of Oglebay Norton Co. The MV Stewart J Cort was the first of the oreboats.

The first laker with self-unloading equipment was the Hennepin (formerly the George H Dyer) a small wooden laker that was refitted with the equipment in 1902. The first laker built as a self-unloader was the Wyandotte launched in 1908. Before these, all boats were unloaded with shoreside equipment. Self-unloading equipment worked well for cargoes that could "flow" out of the holds onto belts, such as coal and limestone. It did not work well for grain, which flowed too readily and would spill off the conveyors, or iron ore, which wouldn't flow well and would hang up in the hold. Because the predominant cargo for lakers was iron ore, self-unloaders did not become common until higher grade ores were depleted and taconite
Taconite

Taconite is an iron-bearing, high-silica, flint-like rock. It is a Precambrian sedimentary rock referred to as a banded iron formation due to the typical alternating iron-rich layers and shale or chert layers....
 pellets were developed in the 1970s. Steam power first appeared in the 1860s and became the standard source of power for over a century. The Canadian grainboat Feux Follets of 1966 was the last laker to be built with a steam turbine
Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1884....
 and thus was the last steamer
Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam engine, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels....
 built on the lakes. Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company

The Ford Motor Company is an United States multinational corporation and the world's List of automobile manufacturers#World Motor Vehicle Production by Manufacturer based on worldwide vehicle sales, following Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen Group....
's Henry Ford 2nd and Benson Ford of 1925 were the first lakeboats with diesel
Diesel

Diesel or diesel fuel in general is any fuel used in diesel engines. The most common is a specific fractional distillation of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid or gas to liquid diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted....
 engines. Diesel powerplants did not become standard until the 1970s. The last active ships of 1920s vintage, and the oldest ships still operating in non-specialized bulk trades is the motor vessels Maumee of Lower Lakes Transportation. She was built as the William G Clyde for US Steel. The ST Crapo, inactive since 1996, was built to haul cement for Huron Cement Co. back in 1927 and was the second ship of that design, the first being the John G Boardman of the same company. The Crapo was the last coal burning freighter on the Great Lakes.

The classic design of cabins fore-and-aft with open decks over the hold started with the long R.J. Hackett, designed and built by Elihu Peck in 1869. The first iron-hulled laker was the Brunswick, launched at Detroit in 1881. The Brunswick sank after a collision later that year and was apparently little known. Many follow the lead of the contemporary Cleveland press and credit the Onoko as the first iron-hulled laker, launched in 1882. The Onoko’s higher center section did become a standard for later lakers. At , the Onoko was the first bulk carrier to hold the unofficial title of “Queen of the Lakes” (longest vessel on the lakes). The SS Carl D. Bradley
SS Carl D. Bradley

The was a self-unloading Great Lakes Lake freighter. Built in 1927 by the American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio, the Bradley was owned by the Michigan Limestone division of U.S....
 (1927 – 640 feet) held the title for 22 years, longer than any other laker of the classic design.

Currently that title is held by the modern stern-ender Paul R Tregurtha. Launched in 1981 as the William J Delancy, and measuring , the Paul R Tregurtha has held the title for 25 years. The Bradley is also known for breaking her back and foundering in a Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The third-largest of the Great Lakes, it is bounded, from west to east, by the U.S....
 storm in 1958. There were only two survivors. The Wilfred Sykes (1949 – 678 feet) is considered to be the first of the modern lakers, and when converted to a self-unloader in 1975 was the first to have the equipment mounted aft. Since then all self-unloading equipment has been mounted aft. The Algoisle (formerly the Silver Isle) (1962 – 715.9 feet) was the first modern laker built with all cabins aft (a “stern-ender”), following the lead of ocean-going bulk carriers and reprising a century old form used by little river steam barges and the whaleback
Whaleback

The whaleback was a cargo steamship of unique design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal--leaving, when fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull with its "whaleback" above the waterline....
s. The Stewart Cort (1971) was the first 1,000 footer and the only “footer” built in the classic cabins-fore-and-aft style. The Algosoo (1974 – 730 feet) was the last laker built in the classic style.

Also of note is the steamer Edward L. Ryerson, widely known for her artistic design and being the only remaining straight-decked (without self unloading machinery) freighter still in active service on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes (the only other U.S. straight decker still listed in semi-active service, the John Sherwin, had not sailed in years and was recently declared unseaworthy due to hull damage - currently relegated to use for storage in Chicago) But will be put back into service in 2010 after coversion to a self unloader and repowered. In the summer of 2006, the Ryerson was fitted out and put into service following a long-term lay-up that began in 1998. The Ryerson has been meticulously maintained, and was often used as a museum boat for tours. She was put back into service due to a lack of reliable hulls on the Lakes, and a need for more tonnage. (The Canadian fleet retains a number of active straight-deckers for use in transporting grain, which is not well suited for self-unloading equipment. Most US grain is currently transported by rail.)

In film, the W.W. Holloway (since scrapped) is famous for being the lake freighter that the Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)

The Blues Brothers is a 1980 in film musical film comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a "Saturday Night Live" musical sketch....
 jump their 1974 Dodge over when Elwood jumps the open 95th Street Draw Bridge.

Museum ships and boats


Cleveland
The William G. Mather
Steamship William G. Mather Maritime Museum

The Steamship William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk lake freighter now restored as a maritime museum in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four in the Great Lakes region....
, a laker built in 1925 and a former flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, has been turned into a maritime museum
Maritime museum

A maritime museum is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navy and the military use of the sea....
 and is open to the public in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border....
 in the North Coast Harbor
North Coast Harbor

File:SEAN TUCKER.JPGNorth Coast Harbor is a district in Downtown Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. It includes the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Steamship William G....
.

Duluth-Superior
The William A Irvin was named for the president of U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel

The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe....
 at the time of her launching and served as the flagship of US Steel's Great Lakes fleet from her launch in 1938 to 1975. She was the first laker to incorporate welding in her design and is open for tours at the Great Lakes Floating Maritime Museum
Great Lakes Floating Maritime Museum

The Great Lakes Floating Maritime Museum is located in Duluth, Minnesota.The historic vessels USCGC Sundew,United States Army United States Army Corps of Engineers tugboat Lake Superior ,...
 in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,918 in the United States Census 2000....
. Moored nearby is the former USCGC Sundew, a former Coast Guard buoy tender commissioned in 1944. Another museum ship, the Meteor, is the last surviving ship of the whaleback
Whaleback

The whaleback was a cargo steamship of unique design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal--leaving, when fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull with its "whaleback" above the waterline....
 design, and is a museum in Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin

The city of Superior sits at the junction of U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 53, and is the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, United States....
, which was the location of the American Steel Barge Company, where the whalebacks were built.

Manistee
The City of Milwaukee
City of Milwaukee

City of Milwaukee may refer to:* the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a great lakes car ferry named for the city...
, a railroad ferry of the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company
Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company

The Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company was the Grand Trunk Western Railroad's subsidiary company operating its Lake Michigan railroad car ferry operations between Muskegon, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1905 to 1978....
. Built in 1931 to replace a previous ferry, the SS Milwaukee
SS Milwaukee

The SS Milwaukee was a train ferry that served on Lake Michigan. It was launched in 1902 and sank with all hands off Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 22 October 1929....
, lost in 1929 with all hands. She sailed for this company for 40 years and another 5 for the Ann Arbor Railroad
Ann Arbor Railroad

The Ann Arbor Railroad , historically, was an United States railroad that operated between Toledo, Ohio, and Elberta, Michigan and Frankfort, Michigan with carferry operations across Lake Michigan....
 before laying up in Frankfort in 1982. She sat there until being sold for a museum. Later moved to her present berth in Manistee, she is open for tours as the last unmodified classic railroad ferry. (The older paddlewheel steam railroad ferries Lansdowne, built in 1884, was modified to support a restaurant in antique railcars in Erie, Pa; and the Huron, built in 1875, was stripped of her cabins and sank at a pier in Detroit. The hull of the Landowne was raised and towed to Buffalo. The mayor and daily newspaper have inveighed against the Lansdowne, calling it an eyesore. She has since been srcapped.

Manitoulin Island
The SS Norisle
SS Norisle

The SS Norisle was a Canada steam-powered automobile ferry that sailed the route between Tobermory and South-Baymouth Manitoulin Island alongside her sister ships, the MS Norgoma and the MS Normac, owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited....
 is a museum ship berthed permanently at the Manitowaning Heritage Complex. She is one of three surviving running mates, the others being the Norgoma and the Normac. She was built in 1946, the first ship built in post-WW II Canada, using engines intended for a Royal Canadian destroyer. Norisle ran until 1974 when she was replaced by the MS Chi-Cheemaun. Plans call for sinking the Norisle as a tourist dive site. A group, Friends of The Norisle, some 200 strong, has formed to lobby against this loss of history.

Muskegon
The Milwaukee Clipper
Milwaukee Clipper

The S/S Milwaukee Clipper, also known as S/S Clipper , and formerly as the S/S Juniata, is a mothballed passenger ship and automobile ferry that sailed under two configurations and on two sides of the Great Lakes....
, another passenger steamer. Built in 1904, she served as a passenger/package freighter for the Pennsylvania Railroad marine division called the Anchor Line as the Stmr. Juniata. In 1940, after several years in layup, she was sold and converted to an excursion steamer between Muskegon & Milwaukee. Laid up in the 1970s, she lingered for 30 years before returning to Muskegon as a museum. Also in Muskegon is the USCGC McLane, a 1920s vintage Coast Guard cutter used to combat the rum-runners in Detroit during Prohibition
Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, refers to a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol....
.

Saugatuck
The SS Keewatin
SS Keewatin

The SS Keewatin is a passenger liner that once sailed between Port Arthur, Ontario / Fort William, Ontario and Port McNicoll, Ontario. She carried passengers between these ports for the Canadian Pacific Railway's Great Lakes Steamship Service....
, a former Canadian Pacific passenger liner. Built in Scotland in 1907, the boat steamed between Fort William, Ontario
Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur, Ontario and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970....
 and Port McNicoll for over 50 years until being sold for scrap in 1967. Saved from the wrecker's torch, the Keewatin was towed to Saugatuck, Michigan
Saugatuck, Michigan

Saugatuck is a city in Allegan County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,065 at the 2000 United States Census. The city is within Saugatuck Township, Michigan, but is administratively autonomous....
 use as a museum in 1968. She is the last unmodified Great Lakes passenger liner in existence and a wonderful example of Edwardian luxury. Keewatin is one of the world's last coal-fired steamships. A Toronto Star article (June 24-07) documents a Canadian effort to see the venerable steamer returned to Dominion waters as a museum ship at Port McNicoll.

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
The Valley Camp
Steamship Valley Camp

The SS Valley Camp is a Lake freighter that served on the Great Lakes for almost 50 years and is currently serving as a museum ship in Sault Ste....
 was built in 1917 and served the National Steel Corporation
National Steel Corporation

File:Great Lakes Steel.pngThe National Steel Corporation was a major United States steel producer. It was founded in 1929 through a merger arranged by Weirton Steel with some properties of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation and M.A....
, the Republic Steel Corporation, and Wilson Transit Co. during her 1917-1966 working life. She became a museum ship on the waterfront of the 'American Soo', east of the Soo Locks
Soo Locks

The Soo Locks allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. The locks pass an average of 10,000 ships per year. This is achieved in spite of the locks' being closed during the winter, from January through March, when ice shuts down shipping on the Great Lakes....
, in 1968. She holds many relics of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald
SS Edmund Fitzgerald

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American lake freighter launched on 8 June 1958. Until the 1970s, she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. Although it had reported having some difficulties during a gale on Lake Superior, the Fitzgerald sank suddenly on 10 November 1975 in 530 Foot of water without sending any distress signals....
 including one of the Fitz's mauled lifeboats.

Sault Ste. Marie, ON
The MS Norgoma, berthed in the Canadian Soo, was built as a steamer carrying freight and passengers in 1950. She ran from Owen Sound to Sault Ste. Marie from 1950 to 1963 on the so-called Turkey Trail. In 1963, the Norgoma was converted to a car ferry, her former role taken over by trucks, buses and automobiles. She ran between Tobermory to Manitoulin Island. At this time, the Norgoma was converted to diesel power. She became a museum ship in 1980. See: http://www.norgoma.org/history.html

Toledo
The Willis B Boyer
Willis B Boyer

Willis B Boyer is a lake freighter which served as a commercial vessel on the Great Lakes for much of the 20th Century, and is currently undergoing renovation as a museum ship in Toledo, Ohio....
 is another Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company vessel that sailed from 1911 to 1980. She was originally owned by the Shenango Furnace Company, and was named the Colonel James M. Schoonmaker. She is open to the public as a museum in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio. Named after Toledo, Spain, it is located on the western end of Lake Erie, on the Michigan border....
.

Failed museum attempts

Several other lakers almost became museums, but due to funding, political opposition or other causes, were sent to the scrapyard.

  • Lewis G Harriman - a 1923 purpose-built cement carrier, the first of her kind, that sailed from her launch until 1980. Used as a storage barge until 2003, a group tried to save her but bad communications within the company saw the ship sold for scrap in 2004 and destroyed in Sault Ste. Marie. The majority of the hull was fed to the Algoma Steel Mill but the fo'c'sle was saved as a summer cottage at Detour, Michigan.
  • SS Niagara - 1897 built freighter, later converted to a sand-sucker. Scrapped in 1997 by Liberty Iron & Metal of Erie, Pennsylvania
    Erie, Pennsylvania

    Erie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Erie tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth largest city , with a population of 104,000....
     after a failed attempt to convert her into a museum in Erie, she had been saved from the scrapyard 11 years earlier.
  • John Ericsson - The second-to-last whaleback
    Whaleback

    The whaleback was a cargo steamship of unique design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal--leaving, when fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull with its "whaleback" above the waterline....
     freighter. The Ericsson was scrapped in 1969 in the city of Hamilton, Ontario
    Hamilton, Ontario

    Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the James Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe....
    . Politics, as was the case with the Canadiana, played a central role in the loss of the ship.
  • Three-masted schooner
    Schooner

    A schooner is a type of sailing ship characterized by the use of fore-and-aft rig sails on two or more mast s. Schooners were first used by the Netherlands in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the early 18th century onwards....
     J.T. Wing - Last commercial sailing ship on the Great Lakes, used briefly in the lumber trade on the Great Lakes. She served as a training vessel before being grounded on Belle Isle in 1949. She was used as a museum ship, before being burned before a crowd of 6000 in 1956.
  • Three masted schooner Alvin Clark - Built in 1846 for the lumber trade, she sank in Green Bay in 1864. She was raised in 1965 and taken to Menominee as a museum. After being severely neglected for a number of years, she was dismantled in 1998.
  • SS Seaway Queen - The Canadian straight decker Seaway Queen, formerly owned by Upper Lakes Shipping was involved in an attempt to save her as a museum. Dock space was arranged, but due to an accounting error, the ship was lost to the scrappers at Alang
    Alang

    Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian States and territories of India of Gujarat, India. It is the leading centre of the worldwide ship breaking and recycling industry....
    , India in 2004.
  • Lansdowne – The paddlewheel steam railroad ferry Lansdowne, built in 1884, was modified to support a restaurant in antique railcars and the Huron, built in 1875, sank at a pier in Erie, Pennsylvania. The hull was raised but little other information as to the future of the vessel has been forthcoming. The hulk was towed to Buffalo, New York in July 2006. The mayor of Buffalo in the winter of 2008 called it an eyesore and called for its removal. The Lansdowne was scrapped in July 2008.


Possible future museum potential


  • Normac - 1902 built fire tug converted into passenger/packet steamer for the Owen Sound Transportation Company Ltd. Larger running mates Norisle and Norgoma have been converted into museum ships. After a stint as a floating restaurant in Toronto that was terminated when accidentally rammed by a ferry, the Normac was towed to Port Dalhousie, Ontario
    Port Dalhousie, Ontario

    Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its waterfront appeal. It is also home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three routes of the Welland Canal....
    , where she serves as the floating cocktail lounge "Big Kahuna."
  • Imperial Sarnia - 1948 built steam tanker. The Imperial Sarnia is ending her days as the dead bunkering vessel Provmar Terminal II in Hamilton, Ontario
    Hamilton, Ontario

    Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the James Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe....
    . While some freighters, such as Great Lakes bulk carriers, Liberty and Victory ships, have survived as museum ships, no conventional tankers have. The tanker museum ships that do exist, the Falls of Clyde and the Meteor, are known for being examples of unique vessel designs: an iron sailing ship and a whaleback, respectively.
  • Cement Steamers - The cement fleet of steamers is rapidly being supplanted by tug/barge combinations like the Integrity and Innovation. Among these are the E M Ford (1898), the J B Ford (1904), the St. Marys Challenger (1906), S T Crapo (1927), the J.A.W. Iglehart (1936), Alpena (1942), and the Paul H Townsend (1945.)
  • Arthur M. Anderson
    SS Arthur M. Anderson

    The SS Arthur M. Anderson is a cargo ship of the Lake freighter type. She is famous for being the last ship to be in contact with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald ....
     launched in 1952, is still running. She is famous for having had the last contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald before the latter sank. She was also the first would-be rescue vessel to search for the Fitzgerald.


Museum or historic ships at risk

A number of historic museum ships face uncertain futures.

  • The aforementioned E M Ford, cement steamer, is as of August 2008, slated for scrapping at the end of the year or the beginning of 2009 according to press reports. She will face the same fate as the lost Lewis G Harriman.


  • There is a campaign to draw the public's attention to the need to renovate the whaleback
    Whaleback

    The whaleback was a cargo steamship of unique design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal--leaving, when fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull with its "whaleback" above the waterline....
     tanker ship Meteor in Superior, Wisconsin
    Superior, Wisconsin

    The city of Superior sits at the junction of U.S. Route 2 and U.S. Route 53, and is the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, United States....
    .


  • Perhaps best-known among ships at risk is Toledo's Willis B Boyer. The future of the Boyer has taken a turn for the better with the port authority taking ownership, providing payment for the ship's caretaker in the Spring of 2007. The Toledo Blade and other local media outlets have provided editorial support.


  • SS Norisle at Manitoulin Island
    Manitoulin Island

    Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world....
    . Plans call for the ship to be towed and scuttled as a dive site. The "Friends of the Norisle" have formed to oppose this loss. Supportive articles and letters to the editor have appeared in the Manitoulin Expositor newspaper.


See also

  • Great Lakes Maritime Academy
    Great Lakes Maritime Academy

    The Great Lakes Maritime Academy at Northwestern Michigan College is an institution for students wanting a career in the merchant marine as either a Deck or Engineering Officer ....
    , training center for merchant mariners on the Great Lakes


External links