The SS William G. Mather is a retired Great Lakes bulk freighter now restored as a museum ship in Cleveland, Ohio, one of five in the Great Lakes region. She transported cargo such as ore, coal, stone, and grain to ports throughout the Great Lakes, and was nicknamed "The Ship That Built Cleveland" because Cleveland's steel mills were a frequent destination.
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the engine located at the rear of the ship. Additionally, lakers are designed to be able to navigate through ice in the winter. They have been used since the late 19th century to haul raw material from docks in the upper Great Lakes region to the industrial centers of the Midwest. The navigation season typically begins in late March and ends mid-January.
MV Paul R. Tregurtha is a Great Lakes-based bulk carrier freighter. She is the current Queen of the Lakes, an unofficial but widely recognized title given to the longest vessel active on the Great Lakes. Launched as MV William J. De Lancey, she was the last of the thirteen "thousand footers" to enter service on the Great Lakes, and was also the last Great Lakes vessel built at the American Ship Building Company yard in Lorain, Ohio. The MV Paul R. Tregurtha is the current flagship for the Interlake Steamship Company.
MV Tim S. Dool is an Algoma Central-owned seawaymax lake freighter built in 1967, by the Saint John Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Saint John, New Brunswick. She initially entered service as Senneville when she sailed as part of the fleet of Mohawk Navigation Company. Senneville was the second lake freighter constructed with a single superstructure at the stern. In 1981, the ship was sold to Pioneer Shipping. That company sold the vessel to Algoma Central in 1994 who renamed the ship Algoville. The bulk carrier got her current name in 2008. Tim S. Dool is currently in active service on the Great Lakes of North America.
The Mississagi was a Type L6-S-B1 lake freighter launched in 1943. Originally she was powered by a 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW) triple-expansion steam engine. In 1985 her steam engines were replaced by a 4,500 horsepower (3,400 kW) diesel engine.
SS Brulin was a lake freighter that worked the North American Great Lakes routes from 1924 to 1960. She was renamed Outarde in 1939, and James J. Buckler in 1960, shortly before she ran aground and sank during salvage operations. Brulin was built by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Hebburn-on-Tyne and launched on 31 July 1924, for the Montreal Forwarding Company. She was built to the maximum dimensions of the canal locks that preceded 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.
MV American Courage is a diesel-powered lake freighter owned and operated by Grand River Navigation. This vessel was built in 1979 at Bay Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin and included self-unloading technology.
MV James R. Barker is an American bulk carrier that operates on the upper four North American Great Lakes. Built in 1976 by the American Ship Building Company at Lorain, Ohio, the ship is 1,004 feet (306 m) long, 50 feet (15 m) high and 105 feet (32 m) wide. Like the MV Mesabi Miner, a ship of the same design, it is owned and operated by the Interlake Steamship Company and was named for Interlake’s Chairman of the Board, James R. Barker.
The Interlake Steamship Company is an American freight ship company that operates a fleet on the Great Lakes in North America. It is now part of Interlake Maritime Services.
The Henry Cort was a 320-foot (98 m) long whaleback freighter. It sank four times during its career; finally running aground at Muskegon, Michigan in November, 1934. The ship broke apart over the winter and was scrapped in 1935.
Augustus B. Wolvin was a 560 ft (170 m) long Great Lakes freighter that had a 63-year career on the Great Lakes. Augustus B. Wolvin was a product of the American Shipbuilding Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She was built for the Acme Steamship Company of Duluth, Minnesota.
The MV Kaye E. Barker is a self-discharging lake freighter owned and operated by the Interlake Steamship Company. She was originally built as the Edward B. Greene, and was later renamed Benson Ford before being sold to Interlake and named the Barker. It primarily hauls hematite pellets, stone, and coal across the North American Great Lakes.
The River class is a type of bulk carrier designed for service on the Great Lakes. The MV Mark W. Barker, the first of the class is due to enter service for the Interlake Steamship Company on 27 July 2022.
SS S.R. Kirby was a composite-hulled bulk carrier that served on the Great Lakes of North America from her construction in 1890 to her sinking in 1916. On May 8, 1916, while heading across Lake Superior with a cargo of iron ore and the steel barge George E. Hartnell in tow, she ran into a storm and sank with the loss of all but two of her 22-man crew off Eagle Harbor, Michigan. For over 102 years the location of S.R. Kirby's wreck remained unknown, until June 2018, when her wreck was discovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) in 825 feet (251 m) of water, completely broken up.
SS John Mitchell was a steel-hulled, American lake freighter in service between 1907 and 1911. She was built in 1906 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in St. Clair, Michigan, for the Cornell Steamship Company of Chicago, Illinois, which was managed by C.W. Elphicke. She entered service in 1907, and had a sister ship named William B. Davock. Throughout her career, John Mitchell carried iron ore and coal. On October 4, 1908, she ran aground at Indiana Harbor, Indiana, while loaded with iron ore.
SS Emperor was a steel-hulled Canadian lake freighter in service between 1911 and 1947. She was built between 1910 and April 1911 by the Collingwood Shipbuilding Company in Collingwood, Ontario, for Inland Lines, Ltd., of Midland, Ontario. She entered service on May 3, 1911. Emperor was sold to Canada Steamship Lines of Montreal, Quebec. Under the ownership of Canada Steamship Lines, she carried a wide variety of cargoes, but most frequently iron ore to Point Edward, Ontario, where it would be transported to Hamilton, Ontario, by train. After the opening of the fourth Welland Canal, Emperor carried the ore directly to Hamilton. She was involved in several accidents throughout her career.
SS Chester A. Congdon was a steel-hulled American lake freighter in service between 1907 and 1918. She was built in 1907 by the Chicago Shipbuilding Company of South Chicago, Illinois, for the Holmes Steamship Company, and was intended to be used in the grain trade on the Great Lakes. She entered service on September 19, 1907, when she made her maiden voyage. In 1911, Salt Lake City was sold to the Acme Transit Company. A year later, she was transferred to the Continental Steamship Company, and was renamed Chester A. Congdon, after lawyer and entrepreneur Chester Adgate Congdon. She was involved in several accidents throughout her career.
SS Sir William Siemens was a steel-hulled American lake freighter in service between 1896 and 1944. Built in 1896 by the Globe Iron Works Company of Cleveland for John D. Rockefeller's Bessemer Steamship Company, she was the third of three 432 ft-long (131.7 m) lake freighters, each of which shared the unofficial title of Queen of the Lakes due to their record-breaking length.
United States