Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships.
The Algoma Central Corporation is the result of a reorganization of the Algoma Central Railway in 1990. The company claims assets in excess of $400 million and revenue of $280 million. Corporate headquarters is located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
MV Algonorth was a Seawaymax lake freighter built in 1970 and completed in 1971 by the Govan Division of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Ltd. in Govan, Scotland as the bulk carrier Temple Bar. Her original owners were Lambert Bros. Shipping Ltd., of London, United Kingdom, sold the vessel in 1976 to Nipigon Transport Ltd., who had her hull lengthened and installed a new power plant for Great Lakes service. Re-entering service as Lake Nipigon, the ship was renamed Laketon in 1984 before returning to the name Lake Nipigon in 1986. In 1987, the lake freighter was sold to Algoma Central Railway which gave the ship its final named, Algonorth. In 2007, the ship collided with a dock in Toledo, Ohio. The ship was scrapped in 2012.
Sauniere was a self-unloading bulk carrier operated by Algoma Central. Laid down as Bulknes, before launching the vessel's name was changed to Brooknes. The ship was constructed and completed in 1970. The ship was initially owned by the Swedish company Kristian Jebsens Rederi A/S. In 1974, Algoma Central purchased the vessel, registered the ship in West Germany and renamed it Algosea. Algoma Central sent the ship to Swan Hunter in England to be lengthened. Emerging in 1976, Algosea sailed for Canada for conversion to a self-unloading bulk carrier at Herb Fraser and Associates in Port Colborne, Ontario. Algosea, which transported road salt between ports in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes suffered three collisions and two groundings during its career. The Algosea was renamed Sauniere in 1982 and continued in service until 2009 when the bulk carrier was sold for scrap and broken up in Turkey in 2010.
Algoma Equinox is a lake freighter and lead ship of her class built for Algoma Central, a Canadian shipping company. The vessel was built to a new design by Nantong Mingde Heavy Industries at their shipyard in Tongzhou, China in 2013. The ship entered service in December 2013, operating in the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Algorail was a lake freighter owned and operated by Algoma Central. The ship was built by Collingwood Shipyards in Collingwood, Ontario and was launched in 1967. The ship sailed on the North American Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway delivering coal/coke, aggregates, slag, iron ore/oxides, salt, fertilizers, grain products, gypsum, quartzite, or sand. The ship was laid up in 2016 and sold for scrap in 2018.
John B. Aird was a self-discharging lake freighter/bulk carrier that was launched in 1983 and served on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway until 2017. The vessel was owned and operated by Algoma Central during that time, which had named the vessel for a former chairman of the Algoma Central Railway. Prior to the construction of Algoma Equinox in 2013, John B. Aird was the last vessel built for the company.
English River was a lake freighter and bulk carrier, launched in 1961 by Collingwood Shipyards of Collingwood, Ontario. In her initial years she carried bulk cargoes and deck cargoes to smaller ports on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River watershed and estuary. In 1973, the vessel was converted into a cement carrier and carried mainly raw cement for the construction industry. The ship continued to operate until English River was removed from service and sold for scrap.
Algolake was a self-unloading bulk carrier owned and operated by Algoma Central. The ship entered service in 1977 on the Saint Lawrence Seaway. In 1994, the ship ran aground in the St. Lawrence River off Quebec. The ship was laid up for scrapping in 2018, renamed Gola and was later scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey.
Baie Comeau is the fourth and last self-unloading lake freighter in Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) Trillium class. Like her sister ships, Baie St. Paul, Thunder Bay, and Whitefish Bay she was built in China, being launched in 2012 and entered service in 2013.
Algoma Progress was a self-unloading lake freighter and bulk carrier operating on the North American Great Lakes, owned by Algoma Central. Launched in 1968, the ship was originally named Canadian Progress and operated by the Upper Lakes Shipping. At launch, the ship was the largest self-unloading vessel on the Great Lakes. Canadian Progress was used to transport coal, iron ore, barley and road salt on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway. Canadian Progress ran aground twice, the first in 1985 and then again in 1988. In 2011, Upper Lakes Shipping sold its entire fleet to Algoma Central, which renamed the vessel Algoma Progress. In 2014, Algoma Progress was sold for scrap and broken up at Port Colborne, Ontario.
Whitefish Bay is a self-unloading lake freighter that entered service with Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) in 2013. Built in China, the vessel is the third of CSL's Trillium-class ships. Her sister ships are Baie Comeau, Baie St. Paul and Thunder Bay. Whitefish Bay is used primarily to transport goods on the North American Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Algoma Compass, formerly Roger M. Kyes and Adam E. Cornelius, is a self-unloading bulk carrier built in Toledo, Ohio in 1973 for the American Steamship Company. The bulk carrier carried bulk cargoes throughout the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. The vessel has earned a reputation as a "hard luck" ship, experiencing mechanical failures and groundings. In 2018, the ship was acquired by Algoma Central and put in service as Algoma Compass.
Algoma Navigator was a Canadian bulk carrier operated by Algoma Central. Like other bulk carriers, her potential cargoes included: coal/coke, aggregates, slag, iron ore/oxides, salt, fertilizers, grain products, gypsum, quartzite, or sand. The vessel was constructed by John Readhead & Sons in the United Kingdom in 1967 for the Cambay Steamship Company and launched as Demeterton. The vessel was enlarged in 1967 and sold in 1975 to the Upper Lakes Group which renamed the ship St. Lawrence Navigator. In 1979, the vessel was renamed Canadian Navigator after a rebuild. In 2011, the ship was sold to Algoma and became Algoma Navigator. In 2016, the bulk carrier was renamed Navi before being sold for scrap and broken up in 2016.
Algosteel was a bulk carrier owned and operated by Algoma Central. The vessel was constructed in 1966 by Davie Shipbuilding at their yard in Lauzon, Quebec for Canada Steamship Lines and launched as A.S. Glossbrenner. In 1968, the vessel was acquired by the Labrador Steamship Company. In 1971, the ship was sold to Algoma Central. The vessel's name was changed to Algogulf in 1987 and to Algosteel in 1990. The bulk carrier primarily transported iron ore and grain along the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. The vessel was taken out of service in April 2018 pending disposal and was scrapped in Aliağa, Turkey, in 2018 under the name Oste.
Algogulf was the third and last name of a bulk carrier launched in 1961, laid-up in 1999, and scrapped in 2002. The ship began her career in 1961 as J.N. McWatters, the second vessel of that name operated by the Misener Shipping Company. The bulk carrier was used to transport primarily grain and iron ore in the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes. In 1991, the vessel was renamed Scott Misener by the company, the fourth of that name. In 1994, the ship was acquired by Algoma Central and renamed Algogulf, the second vessel of the name. The ship was laid up in 1999 and sold for scrapping in 2002.
The Trillium class is a series of freighters owned by Canada Steamship Lines (CSL). The class is divided into three subclasses; the self-discharging lake freighters, the lake bulk carriers, and the Panamax self-discharging bulk carriers. Initially a nine-ship building program, six are operated by Canada Steamship Lines for use on the Great Lakes, while three are operated by CSL Americas for international trade. Two more ships were acquired later for use by CSL Americas.
Radcliffe R. Latimer is a lake freighter launched in 1978. The vessel is owned by Algoma Central but operated under charter to Canada Steamship Lines from 1994 to 1997. As Algobay, the bulk carrier was involved in a collision with another lake freighter in 1980. In 2009 the vessel was rebuilt in China for service in the Caribbean Sea. The vessel is currently in service.
The Equinox class is a series of related bulk carriers operated by Canadian shipping company Algoma Central for service on the Great Lakes. Two variants of the class have been ordered, totaling twelve ships.
Algosoo was a lake freighter constructed for Algoma Central in 1974 by Collingwood Shipyard in Collingwood, Ontario. The second ship of the name, Algosoo was the last lake freighter built in the traditional design for use on the North American Great Lakes, where the bridge topped a superstructure right in the ship's bow, and a second superstructure topped her engines, right in the stern. The vessel was used to transport bulk cargoes between ports on the Great Lakes. In 1986, the ship suffered a serious fire and 1994, was forced to run aground. Algosoo transported her last cargo in late 2015 and was sailed to the breaking yard at Port Colborne, Ontario in October 2016.
Canada