Lake freighter

SS Arthur M. Anderson, with pilothouse forward and engine room astern, also equipped with a self-unloading boom.

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. ^{[1] [2]} Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the engine located at the rear of the ship.

Lakers 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 ships are designed to navigate through ice in the winter. ^[3] The navigation season typically begins in late March and ends mid-January.

In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the lakes, but by the early 21st century, there were fewer than 140 active lakers. ^[4] SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in 1975, became widely known as the largest and most recent major vessel to be wrecked on the Great Lakes.

History

The lake freighter’s familiar design was the product of many years of innovation in Great Lakes shipping. In the late 1860s, shipping was primarily conducted by unpowered barges and sailing ships. During this time, steamboats were gaining popularity for their faster and more reliable (and therefore more profitable) shipping abilities.

R. J. Hackett, the first modern Great Lakes bulk freighter

In 1869, the first modern lake freighter was launched. The R. J. Hackett was designed to transport iron ore with a boxy wooden hull, a pilothouse at the front of the ship, and the engine at the stern. The long deck was lined with hatches spaced 24 feet apart to match the chutes of the gravity ore dock in Marquette, Michigan. ^{[5] [6]} Though the design was unconventional for the time, the ship's speed and cargo capacity led to subsequent lake freighters adopting Hackett's design. ^[7]

Further developments in the design of the lake freighters came from the hull design. Early ships often had a wooden hull, or composite hulls, made from oak wrapped in iron. In 1881 and 1882 the first iron-hulled freighters, Brunswick and Onoko , were launched. ^{[6] [8]} The first steel-hulled freighter, the Spokane, launched four years later. Steel quickly became a standard hull material by ship manufacturers when it became more affordable as a result of the Bessemer process. Iron and composite hulls were discontinued, while wood was used for smaller vessels into the early 1900s. ^[6]

Whaleback Joseph L. Colby

An early variation on the lake freighter was the whaleback boat, designed by Alexander McDougall. The name whaleback as a result of the curved, cigar-shaped body that rose out of the water when fully loaded. These ships carried bulk cargo on the lakes from 1888 through 1970, when the last whaleback retired from service. ^{[7] [9]}

After World War II, 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 continue to sail today.^{[ citation needed ]}

Landmark vessels

Name	Launched	Notes
R. J. Hackett	1869	First of the lake freighters. Hackett burned at Whaleback Shoal in 1905. [5]
Brunswick	1881	First iron-hulled lake freighter.
Spokane	1886	First steel-hulled lake freighter.
Hennepin	1888	Originally Str. George H. Dyer, it was the first ship retrofitted to have self-unloading equipment in 1902. Hennepin sank in a storm in 1927. [6]
Wyandotte	1908	First ship built as a self-unloader.
S. T. Crapo	1927	The last coal-fired freighter on the Great Lakes. In 1995, the ship's boiler was converted to be oil-firing. The 95-year-old ship was scrapped in 2022. [10]
Stewart J. Cort	1972	First 1000-footer lake freighter. Originally Hull 1173 and nicknamed "Stubby," the ship only consisted of the bow and stern sections. It was then sailed to Erie, Pennsylvania and lengthened by over 700 feet. [2] [11]
Henry Ford II, Benson Ford	1924	First lake freighters with diesel engines. [12]
Feux Follets	1967	Last ship built with a steam turbine.
James R. Barker	1976	First standard construction 1000-footer.
Paul R. Tregurtha	1981	The current Queen of the Lakes, at 1013.5 ft, since launch in 1981. [13]

Types of lake freighters

The types of vessels on the Great Lakes can be differentiated by how they are used. Lakers operate within the freshwater Great Lakes system while "salties," are primarily ocean-going. These ocean-going vessels enter the Great Lakes through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The ships taking this route tend to be smaller, restricted by the size of the Seaway's locks. Because of their deeper draft and freshwater's lower buoyancy, salties often take on partial loads. ^[14] Conversely, the Seaway allows smaller lakers to access the Atlantic Ocean. The larger, newer ships are restricted to the upper lakes.

Depending on how they are used, lakers may be referred to by their type. "Oreboats" or "ironboats" are used in hauling iron ore and taconite pellets. "Self-unloaders" are equipped with self-unloading gear, white "straight deckers" are not. Others include "bulkers" (carrying bulk cargo), "sternenders" (all cabins aft), and "longboats" (for their slender appearance).

Cargo

Average yearly cargoes 2018–2022
(million tons)

Iron ore	42.3
Coal	10.0
Limestone	22.9
Cement	3.4
Salt	0.9
Sand	0.5
Grain	0.3
Total	80.4
Source: "Cargo Reports – Year-in-Review 2023 – U.S.-Flag Vessels" [15]

Lakers are generally bulk carriers; carrying cargoes of rock, ore, salt or grain in large contiguous holds, not packed in containers. The earlier ships required rail cars unloading on ore docks and unloading machinery at the receiving docks, ^[16] but modern lakers are self-unloaders, allowing them to unload faster and in more ports.^{[ citation needed ]} Because the predominant cargo for lakers was iron ore, self-unloaders did not become common until higher grade ores were depleted and taconite pellets were developed. ^[17]

Cason J. Callaway laid up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. (2021)

The most common cargoes on the Great Lakes are taconite, limestone, grain, salt, coal, cement, gypsum, sand, slag, and potash. Much of the cargo supplies the steel mills of the auto industry, centered around the Great Lakes because of the ease of transport. Other destinations include coal-fired power plants, highway department salt domes, and stone docks, where limestone is unloaded for the construction industry. U.S.-flagged freighters carried the largest portion of the trade, accounting for two-thirds of all cargo by weight. U.S. hulls carried most of the iron, limestone and cement, while Canadian boats carried most of the potash, and almost all of the salt and grain moved on the lakes.^{[ citation needed ]}

Destination harbors, ship sizes, and legal restrictions greatly affect the pattern of haulage. Large U.S. ships hauled most of the iron ore on the lakes (79%) from U.S. mines to U.S. mills. This reflects the requirement of the Jones Act, as well as the industry using large volumes of material while being concentrated in a few large harbor locations. Salt and Canadian grain can be hauled to numerous smaller ports of either country on smaller, mostly Canadian, ships, which can also enter the St. Lawrence Seaway with the Canadian ports of Montreal and Quebec City.^{[ citation needed ]}

Size

1000-footer George A. Stinson (now American Spirit) pounds through Lake Huron waves.

The size of lake freighters limits where the ships can go. Poe Lock at the Soo Locks is the largest deep lock at 1,200 feet (370 m) long and 110 feet (34 m) wide. Because of size restrictions, there are currently thirty vessels on the lakes that can only pass between Lake Superior and Lake Huron using Poe Lock, although none approaches the lock's size.^{[ citation needed ]}

Many lakers are restricted to the Great Lakes, being unable to navigate the St Lawrence Seaway whose locks allow a maximum vessel size of 740 feet (230 m) in length and 78 feet (24 m) in breadth. The shallow draft imposed by the rivers (the controlling depths of 27 feet (8.2 m) in the St. Marys River and 21 feet (6.4 m) in Lake St. Clair ^[18] ) restricts the cargo capacity of lakers, but that is partially recovered by their extra length and box design.

The largest vessels on the lakes are the 1000-footers (300 m). All of the 1000-footers are U.S.-flagged vessels and are between 1,000 and 1,013.5 feet (304.8 and 308.9 m) long, 105 feet (32 m) wide and of 56 ft (17 m) hull depth. They can carry as much as 78,850 long tons (80,120 t) of bulk cargo.^{[ citation needed ]}

A dozen of these ships were built between 1976 and 1981, and all remain in service today. The most powerful is MV Edwin H. Gott, ^[19] which carried two Enterprise DMRV-16-4 diesel engines driving twin propellers and was rated at 19,500 brake horsepower (14,500 kW), making her the most powerful boat on the lakes. This allowed a top speed of 16.7 miles per hour (14.5 kn; 26.9 km/h). ^[20] MV Edwin H. Gott was repowered in 2011 with two MaK/Caterpillar 8M43C engines, each rated at 9,650 brake horsepower (7,200 kW), ^[21] and other lake freighters have been repowered as well. MV Paul R. Tregurtha is the largest boat on the lakes, at 1,013 feet 6 inches (308.91 m) and capable of loading 68,000 tons of bulk cargo. ^[22]

The Canadian fleet needs to travel to and from its major cities along the St. Lawrence Seaway, so the largest length for the Canadian vessels is 740 feet (230 m) (Seawaymax-size). The reason for this standard length is the Welland Canal, which bypasses Niagara Falls. The locks here are roughly 800 feet (240 m) long, limiting the maximum length of vessels.

Lake boats in the 600-and-700-foot (180 and 210 m) classes are more common, because of 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. These smaller boats can serve smaller harbors around the lakes which have irregular need for their services. The latest major vessel built for bulk cargoes on the lakes is the articulated tug/barge combination Ken Boothe Sr./Lakes Contender. The 740-foot barge Lakes Contender and the 135-foot (41 m) tug Ken Boothe Sr. entered service in 2012. ^{[ citation needed ]}

Another reason for the lack of larger Canadian vessels is legislative in nature. Larger ships on the lakes are generally used to transport American-mined ore bound for American mills. Because of the Jones Act of 1920, only American ships can carry ore from American mines to American mills in American ports; ergo, larger Canadian ships are not needed.^{[ citation needed ]}

List of 1000-footers on the lakes

See also: List of bulk carriers § Lake freighters

List of 1000-footers operating on the Great Lakes

Name	Type	Dimensions	Tonnage	Notes
American Integrity	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft	89,000 tons
American Spirit	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,004 ft × 105 ft	80,900 tons
American Century	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft	73,700 tons
Edgar B. Speer	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,004 ft × 105 ft	80,900 tons
Edwin H. Gott	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft		Most powerful engines on the Great Lakes
James R. Barker	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft		First standard construction 1000-footer.
Mesabi Miner	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,004 ft × 105 ft
Paul R. Tregurtha	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,013.5 ft × 105 ft		Largest vessel operating on the Great Lakes
Stewart J. Cort	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft		First 1000-footer on the lakes. [23] Only 1000-footer with a forward pilot house
Burns Harbor	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft
Indiana Harbor	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft
Walter J. McCarthy Jr.	Bulk freighter (self unloading)	1,000 ft × 105 ft	80,120 tons	Highest cargo capacity (78,850 long tons [88,310 short tons; 80,120 t])
Presque Isle	Tug/barge combination	1,000 ft × 104 ft 7 in		Only 1000 ft tug/barge combination unit

Design

Self-unloading freighter discharging bulk cargo at Duluth, Minnesota.

Freighter James R Barker passing through the Straits of Mackinac

MV John B. Aird, a laker with a single aft superstructure.

A lake freighter leaving the Soo Locks (bottom right). Michigan on right foreground, Ontario left and background.

Lake freighters are narrower and generally longer than their ocean-going counterparts because they must traverse the locks of the Great Lakes Waterway, they all have features in common, and their appearance differs from the ocean-going freighters on the lakes.

Beginning in the late 1800s, lake freighters typically had the bridge and associated superstructure at the bow. Traditionally they had a second island, over the engine room in the stern. These dual-cabin boats were constructed between 1869 and 1974. R. J. Hackett premiered the style, and the second Algosoo was the final vessel designed this way.^{[ citation needed ]} More recently built lakers, like CSL Niagara, have a single large superstructure island at the stern.

Vessel speeds are not as important on the lakes as on the ocean. Ports are often closer together than in ocean trade, so cargo capacity is more important than speed.^{[ citation needed ]}

Lake vessels are designed with the greatest block coefficient to maximize the vessel's size in the locks within the Great Lakes/St Lawrence Seaway system. Therefore, ship designers have favored bluff bows over streamlined bows.^{[ citation needed ]}

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 (7.3 m) 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 (3.7 m). The ship designers used this pattern for their hatch configuration.

Since Great Lakes waves do not 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 larger than that of an ocean-going ship. The lake vessels generally have a 10:1 length to beam ratio, whereas ocean vessels are typically 7:1. The dimensions of the locks is the determining factor in lake vessel construction.

Lifespan

In 2006, J. B. Ford (left) in use for cement storage at age 102 with J. A. W. Iglehart (right) in her last month of a 70-year sailing career, which included surviving a U-boat attack in the Atlantic during World War II.

Modern lake freighters are usually designed and constructed for a 45-50 year old service life, outlasting ocean-going bulk carriers. ^[24] The SS St. Marys Challenger launched in 1906 and worked independently until 2013. The Challenger is still in service as a barge at 118 years old. ^[25] As of 2023, ocean-going bulk freighters average an 11 year lifespan. ^[26] Contributing to this, is the corrosive effects of saltwater. ^[27]

E. M. Ford had one of the longest careers, having been built in 1898 (as Presque Isle) and still sailing until being scrapped in November 2010.^{[ citation needed ]}

Decorated World War II veteran ships are still in active, although civilian, use. The tanker Chiwawa now the bulk freighter Lee A. Tregurtha ^[28] The Landing Craft Tank 203 is now the working vessel Outer Island.^{[ citation needed ]}

Newest freighters

Some shipping companies are building new freighters to ply the waters of the Great Lakes. The following are new freighters in use or will be launched for use in the Great Lakes:

• Algoma Mariner – built by Chengxi Shipyard of Jiangyin, China, delivered in August 2011 for Algoma Central Corporation. ^{[29] [30]}
• Equinox class – a new class of lake freighter, several of which entered service in the 2010s for Seaway Marine Transport, a division of Algoma Central. A class of vessel is created any time a new design is used to build a ship and is notable when multiple ships are built to the same design plans. ^[31] The ships are used as dry-bulk lake freighters (two gearless bulk freighter and three self-unloading vessel). ^[30] The first in the series, Algoma Equinox, was launched in 2013.
• Trillium class – a new class of lake freighter delivered for Canada Steamship Lines in 2012 (Baie St. Paul) and 2013 (Whitefish Bay, Thunder Bay and Baie Comeau). An additional pair (CSL Welland and CSL St. Laurent) began service on the Great Lakes in 2015.
• River class – a new class of lake freighter, one of which, Mark W. Barker, was commissioned by Interlake Steamship Company and entered service on July 1, 2022. ^[32]

Ship losses and incidents

Cedarglen beset in ice during a December trip until freed by two US Coast Guard icebreakers.

See also: List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and List of storms on the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes have a long history of shipwrecks, groundings, storms, and collisions. From the 1679 sinking of Le Griffon with its cargo of furs to the 1975 loss of Edmund Fitzgerald , thousands of ships and thousands of lives have been lost, many involving vessels in the cargo trade. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum uses the approximates 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives lost. ^[33] 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. ^[34] Maritime historian Mark Thompson reports that based on nautical records, nearly 6,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes occurred between 1878 and 1994, with about a quarter of those being listed as total losses with a total of 1,166 lives lost. ^[35]

The most recent losses of modern lakers were:

• SS Superior City, August 20, 1920, Lake Superior, 29 of 33 crew died, (collision with freighter Willis L. King)
• SS Emperor, June 4, 1947, Lake Superior, 12 of 33 crew died, (ran into rocks at Isle Royale)
• SS Henry Steinbrenner, May 11, 1953, Lake Superior, 17 of 31 crew died, (flooded after the cargo hatch covers were lost during a storm)
• SS Scotiadoc, June 20, 1953, Lake Superior, 1 of 29 crew died, (rammed by freighter Burlington in heavy fog)
• SS Carl D. Bradley, November 18, 1958, Lake Michigan, 33 of 35 crew died, (split in half by hogging during a storm) ^[36]
• SS Cedarville, May 7, 1965, Straits of Mackinac, 10 of 35 crew died, (collision with the saltie Topdalsfjord)
• SS Daniel J. Morrell, November 29, 1966, Lake Huron, 28 of 29 crew died, (split in half by hogging during a storm)
• SS Edmund Fitzgerald, November 10, 1975, Lake Superior, 29 of 29 crew died, (unknown cause during a storm)

The salties Prins Willem V and Monrovia sank in the Great Lakes during the 1950s; both in collisions with other ships. The saltie Francisco Morazan was a total loss after running aground off South Manitou Island on November 29, 1960. Another saltie Nordmeer grounded on Thunder Bay Island Shoal in November 1966, but before it could be refloated, it was further damaged in the same storm that sank the Morrell and was declared a total loss.

Ships on the lakes have been involved in many lesser incidents. Lakers have been subject to frequent groundings in ports and channels because of varying lake levels and silting, collisions with objects (such as the 1993 collision of the Indiana Harbor with the Lansing Shoals Light Station), ^[35] 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 lighthouses and lights, and floating navigation aids. The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard maintain stations around the Great Lakes including icebreakers and rescue helicopters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies maintain the harbors and seaways to limit groundings by dredging and seawalling. ^[37]

November was the traditional last month of shipping before the winter layup (and lake freeze-up). During November, much of the worst weather of the navigation season occurs which has resulted in a disproportionate number of accidents. One study shows that over half of all strandings and one-third of all vessels lost to foundering between 1900–1950 were lost during November. ^[38]

Famous vessels

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald is possibly the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes.

The most well-known lake freighter was Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank during a storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Gordon Lightfoot's ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", publicized the incident. ^[39] The Edmund Fitzgerald became the largest ship on the lakes at 729 feet (222 m) when launched in 1958. In addition to this, she was regarded for her "DJ Captain," Peter Pulcer, who frequently played music to entertain onlookers. ^[40]

SS Arthur M. Anderson. launched in 1952, is known for having last contact with Edmund Fitzgerald and was the first vessel on-scene to search for the Edmund Fitzgerald. ^[41]

Paul R. Tregurtha currently holds the title "Queen of the Lakes" as the largest ship on the lakes since launching in 1981. The modern stern-ender was first launched William J. Delancy, measuring 1013.5 feet (308.9 m). ^[42]

Notable vessels

See also: Queen of the Lakes

Onoko was the second iron-hulled laker, launched in 1882. At 302 ft, Onoko was the longest ship on the lakes and became the first bulk carrier to hold the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes." The title that has been passed down to record-breaking lake freighters since. SS Carl D. Bradley held the title for 22 years, longer than any other laker of the classic design.^{[ citation needed ]}

Ford Motor Company's Henry Ford II and Benson Ford of 1924 were the first lakeboats with diesel engines. ^[43] The Canadian grainboat Feux Follets of 1967 was the last laker built with a steam turbine on the lakes S. T. Crapo was the last coal burning freighter on the Great Lakes. ^[10]

MV Stewart J. Cort (1971) was the first 1000-footer on the lakes and 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). ^[44]

Paul R. Tregurtha on winter lay-up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, on February 19, 2008.

Wilfred Sykes (1949 – 678 ft, 207 m) 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. Algoisle (formerly Silver Isle) (1962 – 715.9 ft, 218.2 m) 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 whalebacks. Algosoo (1974–2015 730 ft, 220 m) was the last laker built in the classic style.^{[ citation needed ]}

SS Edward L. Ryerson

Also of note is the steamer Edward L. Ryerson, widely known for her artistic design and being the only remaining straight-decked freighter still in active service on the US side of the Great Lakes.^{[ citation needed ]} In the summer of 2006, Edward L. Ryerson was fitted out and put into service following a long-term lay-up that began in 1998. Ryerson has been in long-term layup since 2009. ^[45]

Museum ships and surviving hulls

See also: List of Great Lakes museum and historic ships

Cleveland, Ohio

The William G. Mather was first built in 1925 and served as the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company's flagship until 1980. In 1987, the ship was donated to the Great Lakes Historical Society for restoration and preservation. In 2005, the ship was moved to its present location at Cleveland's North Coast Harbor. Then, in 2006, the ship was acquired by the Great Lakes Science Center for use as a museum ship. The ship is available to tour seasonally. ^{[46] [47]}

MV Maumee, one of the long-lived bulk freighters on the Lakes, unloads in Holland, Michigan. Scrapped in 2012 when she was 83 years old.

Duluth-Superior, Minnesota-Wisconsin

The William A. Irvin (named for the president of U.S. Steel) served as the flagship of their Great Lakes fleet from 1938 to 1975. The Irvin was retired in 1978 and purchased 8 years later by the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and is available for touring. ^{[48] [49]}

The SS Meteor, the last surviving whaleback ship, floats as a museum less than a mile from where it was launched in Superior, Wisconsin. The ship is permanently land-berthed on Barker's Island. ^[50]

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Valley Camp was a 1917 ship that served until 1966. She became a museum ship on the waterfront of the 'American Soo', east of the Soo Locks, in 1968. She holds many relics of the sinking of Edmund Fitzgerald including two of Edmund Fitzgerald's mauled lifeboats. ^[51]

Toledo, Ohio

Willis B. Boyer and Buckeye in the Maumee River, Toledo. Buckeye was later converted to a barge and renamed Lewis J. Kuber and currently is named Menominee.

The 118-year-old SS St. Mary's Challenger's pilothouse is set to be on display in the National Museum of the Great Lakes' upcoming museum expansion. ^[52]

The SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker floats in the Maumee River as a museum ship for the National Museum of the Great Lakes. When launched in 1911, it was the largest bulk freighter in the world. ^[53] The Schoonmaker was a floating museum before, after being purchased by the City of Toledo, Ohio in 1987. ^[54]

Other surviving hulls and partial ships

DeTour Village, Michigan

Lewis G. Harriman's bow and bow superstructure are preserved as a residence in DeTour, Michigan. The ship was christened as the SS John W. Boardman in 1923. In 1965, the Boardman was renamed to Lewis G. Harriman and used as a cement storage barge during the Poe Lock construction in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The ship was sold for scrap 2003, but the pilothouse and hull of the Harriman were saved and now are used as a residence along the lakeshore. ^[55]

John Sherwin, has not sailed since 1981 and is currently docked in DeTour, Michigan after conversion to a self-unloader and repowering was halted in November 2008. ^[56]

Put-In-Bay, Ohio

Benson Ford, named for Henry Ford's grandson, was the flagship of the Ford Motor Company fleet when launched in 1924. The forward cabin is now located on a cliff on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, where it was moved in 1986. It has been a private residence since 1999. The home is intermittently available for tours. ^{[57] [58]}

Mississauga, Ontario

SS Ridgetown was partially sunk as a breakwater (with stack and cabins intact) near Toronto at Port Credit. It was built in 1905 and is one of the oldest surviving hulls on the lake. Its silhouette provides an example of the appearance of early 1900s lake freighters.

Detroit, Michigan

The pilot house of William Clay Ford is part of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle. ^[59] The pilot house is open for tours and overlooks the Detroit River.

Failed museum attempts, ships scrapped

A modern laker, Earl W. (now Manitowoc), passes the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Several other lakers nearly became museums, but were scrapped for lack of funding, political opposition, and other causes.

• SS Niagara: 1897-built freighter, later converted to a sand-sucker. Scrapped in 1997 by Liberty Iron & Metal of Erie, Pennsylvania, 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 freighter. John Ericsson was scrapped in 1969 in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Politics, as was the case with Canadiana, played a central role in the loss of the ship.
• SS Seaway Queen: The Canadian straight decker Seaway Queen, formerly owned by Upper Lakes Shipping, and the setting for the movie version of David Mamet's play Lakeboat , was involved in an attempt to save her as a museum. In the end, the company failed to locate an organization that was capable and willing to preserve her and she was sold and scrapped in Alang, India, in 2004.
• J. B. Ford: 1904 freighter that survived the 1905 Mataafa storm and the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 with the last three-cycle reciprocating steam engine was too expensive to turn into a museum and was sent to Azcon Metals in Duluth to be scrapped in 2015. ^[60]

See also

• Canal
• Glossary of nautical terms
• Great Lakes Maritime Academy, training center for merchant mariners on the Great Lakes
• Great Lakes passenger steamers
• Great Lakes Storm of 1913
• Great Lakes Waterway
• Merchant vessel
• Navigability
• Ship transport
• Watercraft
• Waterway

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10. "95-year-old Laker S.T. Crapo to Be Scrapped". MarineLink. September 23, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
11. "M/V Stewart J. Cort | Interlake Steamship". www.interlake-steamship.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
12. "The Ford Fleet -- The Henry Ford Blog - Blog - The Henry Ford". www.thehenryford.org. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
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14. "Marine shipping in the Great Lakes: What you need to know". ClearSeas. January 17, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
15. Cargo Reports – Year-in-Review 2023 – U.S.-Flag Vessels (Report). Lake Carriers’ Association. January 31, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
16. "Giant Jaws Upload Ore Ship". Popular Mechanics, May 1953, pp. 74–77.
17. "Taconite". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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External links

• Boatnerd website
• Willis B. Boyer website
• William G. Mather website
• Valley Camp website
• Norisle website
• Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum – USS Silversides & USCGC McLane