 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Type L6 ship |
| Builders | American Ship Building Company and Great Lakes Engineering Works |
| Built | 1943 (U.S. shipyards) |
| In service | 1943 – 2024 |
| Completed | 16 |
| Laid up | 1 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Retired | 16 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Maritimer class - L6 |
| Tonnage | 15,825 DWT |
| Length | 620 ft 0 in (188.98 m) (design) |
| Beam | 60 ft 0 in (18.29 m) (design) |
| Depth | 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m) (design) |
| Installed power | 2,500 shp triple expansion steam engine |
| Propulsion | Two coal-fired water tube boilers *(some coveted to diesel engine) |
The Type L6 ship is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for World War II as a Great Lakes dry break bulk cargo ship. The L-Type Great Lakes Dry Bulk Cargo Ships were built in 1943 to carry much-needed iron ore from the upper Great Lakes to the steel and iron production facilities on Lakes Erie and Ontario in support of the war effort. The ships have a 15,675 tonne deadweight tonnage. The L6 ships were built by two companies: American Ship Building Company, in the case of the type L6-S-A1 models, of which 6 were built; and Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ashtabula, Ohio/ Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, in the case of the type L6-S-B1, which produced 10 ships. Steel supply needed for World War was great. To supply iron ore from Lake Superior to steel foundries, the United States Commission had a series of L6 Lakers ship built. The Maritime Commission ordered ten Great Lakes Bulk Carriers of the L6-S-B1 type. The L6-S-B1 was design with a 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines. The L6-S-A1 used a lentz 4-cylinder compound engine. All L6 ships were coal burning and delivered between May and November 1943. [1] L6-S-B1 was built for the US Maritime Commission under USMC contract MCc-1834 in 1943 at the River Rouge yard. Each L6 ship cost $2.265 million. The first L6-S-B1 was the SS Adirondack/Richard J. Reiss, hull 290, keel was laid on March 9, 1942 and launched on September 19, 1942. The ships are often called the Maritimer Class Lake Bulk Freighter now. [2]
