Lake freighter

File:R.J. Hackett.jpg

The lake freighter's recognizable design emerged from many years of innovation in Great Lakes shipping. By the late 1860s, most bulk cargo was still carried by unpowered barges and sailing ships. Often, these ships had accessible deck hatches, useful for loading and unloading cargo. Also around this time, passenger steamboats were gaining popularity for their steam-powered shipping abilities, which were faster and more reliable.

In 1869, the wood-hulled {{ship||R. J. Hackett|steamer|2}} was launched. It was designed specifically for the iron ore trade and had an experimental design that would soon set the standard for subsequent bulk carriers on the Great Lakes. R. J. Hackett featured a raised pilothouse at the bow, situated on top of a set of cabins, and a boxy hull to maximize cargo capacity. Between the raised forecastle and engine funnel at the stern was a long, unbroken deck lined with hatches spaced {{convert|24|ft}} apart (to match the chutes of the gravity ore dock in Marquette, Michigan).{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRLZDXIEWCsC&pg=PA30 |title=Steamboats & Sailors of the Great Lakes |date=1991 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-2359-5 |pages=38 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Hackett, R.J. |url=https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/433135 |website=Historical Collections of the Great Lakes |publisher=Bowling Green State University University Libraries}} File:Soo Locks 19th Century.jpg){{Cite web |last=Brotherton |first=R. S. |date=1955 |title=The Soo Locks – One Hundred Years Ago |url=https://nmgl.org/the-soo-locks-one-hundred-years-ago-summer-1955/ |access-date=May 19, 2024 |website=National Museum of the Great Lakes |language=en-US}}]]

The falls of the St. Marys River forced ships to portage their cargo {{convert|1.25|mi|km}} around the falls. In an effort to make shipping more efficient and profitable, Michigan representatives appealed to the federal government for funding to build a canal. In 1855, the Michigan State Locks (now Soo Locks) opened, allowing vessels to keep up with demands for iron ore from further east. This would fuel the development of bulk carriers on the Great Lakes.{{Cite web |title=iron ore & taconite |url=https://project.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/iron_ore__taconite.html |access-date=May 19, 2024 |website=project.geo.msu.edu}}

The early lakers often had a wooden hull, or a composite hull of an oak frame wrapped in iron plating. With the depletion of high-quality timber near the lakeshore, shipbuilders increasingly opted for metal hulls. In 1881 and 1882, the first entirely iron-hulled freighters, Brunswick and {{SS|Onoko||2}}, were launched. Around this time, steel was quickly becoming a standard hull material as a result of the Bessemer process making it more affordable. The first steel-hulled freighter, Spokane, was launched in 1886. Soon both iron and composite hulls were phased out, while wood was used for smaller vessels into the early 1900s.{{Cite journal |last=Lengieza |first=Joseph |date=April 2016 |title=Vernacular in Curves: The Mythologizing of the Great Lakes Whaleback |url=https://thescholarship.ecu.edu/bitstream/handle/10342/5333/LENGIEZA-MASTERSTHESIS-2016.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |journal=East Carolina University}}

File:UP digCenter AK01b350 Whaleback Joseph L. Colby.jpg Joseph L. Colby]]

An early variation on the lake freighter was the whaleback, designed by Alexander McDougall. These had cigar-shaped bodies that barely rose out of the water when fully loaded, and carried bulk cargo on the lakes from 1888 through 1970.{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irtD2o_uQ88C&pg=PA22 |title=Queen of the Lakes |date=1994 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-2393-9 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Whaleback Boats on the Great Lakes {{!}} Minnesota Digital Library |url=https://mndigital.org/projects/primary-source-sets/whaleback-boats-great-lakes |access-date=May 3, 2024 |website=mndigital.org}}

The early lake freighters required cargo to be manually unloaded, or with assistance from unloading machinery at the docks.[https://books.google.com/books?id=aNwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA74 "Giant Jaws Upload Ore Ship"]. Popular Mechanics, May 1953, pp. 74–77. In 1902, Hennepin was the first ship to be retrofitted with self-unloading equipment, allowing its cargo to be landed in a fraction of the time.

Around 1916, {{convert|600|ft|adj=on}} vessels more or less became the standard size.{{Cite journal |last=Harkins |first=Wesley |date=November 1954 |title=Iron Ore Traffic on the Great Lakes |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1954/november/iron-ore-traffic-great-lakes |journal=U. S. Naval Institute |volume=80 |issue=11 |pages=621}}

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. The oil tanker {{USS|Chiwawa|AO-68|2}} became the bulk freighter MV Lee A. Tregurtha{{Cite web |last=Wharton |first=George |date=April 20, 2021 |title=Lee A. Tregurtha |url=https://boatnerd.com/lee-a-tregurtha/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Boatnerd |language=en-US}} In addition, the freighter Outer Island was originally commissioned as LCT-203 for use as a tank landing craft during World War II.{{Cite web |title=LCT-203 - Historical Collections of the Great Lakes - BGSU University Libraries |url=https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/438634 |access-date=May 16, 2024 |website=greatlakes.bgsu.edu}}

In the mid-20th century, 300 lakers worked the lakes, but by the early 21st century, there were fewer than 140 active.{{cite web |date=December 30, 2007 |title=Ship fans mourn scrapping of the Calumet |url=http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/12/port_colborne_ontario_killer.html |access-date=July 7, 2008 |work=The Grand Rapids Press |via=mlive.com}} By the 1990s, older and smaller self-unloaders and straight-deck freighters were converted into tug-barges.{{Cite web |title=Great Lakes ships |url=https://www.eekwi.org/great-lakes/humans-and-great-lakes/great-lakes-ships |access-date=May 22, 2024 |website=eek! Environmental Education for Kids}}

The many lake freighters operating on the Great Lakes can be differentiated by how they are used. This may be where the ships may be where they work, their design, their size, or other factors. The ships are not always exclusive to one category. These types include:

• Laker – a bulk carrier operating primarily in the upper Great Lakes.{{Cite web |title=Boating Glossary |url=https://www.buyrope.co.uk/boating-glossary/ |access-date=May 19, 2024 |website=Boating Glossary |language=en}}
• Longboats – lakers noted for their slender appearance.
• Oreboat/Ironboat – a bulk carrier used primarily to transport iron ore and taconite pellets.
• Saltie – ocean-going, seawaymax vessels that access the Great Lakes through the Saint Lawrence Seaway.{{Cite web |last=McLean |first=Samuel |date=November 29, 2021 |title=Lakers and Salties and Bulkers, Oh My! |url=https://globalmaritimehistory.com/lakers-and-salties-and-bulkers-oh-my/ |access-date=May 19, 2024 |website=Global Maritime History |language=en-US}}
• Self-unloader – a lake freighter equipped with self-unloading gear.
• Stern-ender – a lake freighter with all cabins aft.
• Straight decker (bulker) – a freighter built without conveyors and cranes to offload cargo, instead using port facilities.{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Bob |date=May 18, 2015 |title=Fun facts about freighters |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/05/18/great-lakes-freighters/27530795/ |access-date=May 31, 2024 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en-US}}
• Tug-barge - a bulk carrier created by pairing barges (former self-unloaders and straight-deckers) with a tugboat.

Some of the newer classes of lake freighters include:

• {{sclass2|Equinox|freighter|4}} – 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.[http://www.professionalmariner.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=420C4D38DC9C4E3A903315CDDC65AD72&nm=Archives&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=FE58928202CE4130B8207D23CB6B9062 Canadian company orders five lakers, Wheat Board orders two others]{{dead link|date=April 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, John Snyder, Issue #149, August 2011 The ships are used as dry-bulk lake freighters (two gearless bulk freighter and three self-unloading vessel). The first in the series, {{ship||Algoma Equinox}}, was launched in 2013.
• {{sclass2|Trillium|freighter|4}} – a new class of lake freighter delivered for Canada Steamship Lines in 2012 ({{ship||Baie St. Paul|2012 ship|2}}) and 2013 ({{ship||Whitefish Bay|2013 ship|2}}, {{ship||Thunder Bay|2013 ship|2}} and {{ship||Baie Comeau|2013 ship|2}}). An additional pair (CSL Welland and CSL St. Laurent) began service on the Great Lakes in 2015.
• {{sclass2|River|freighter|4}} – a new class of lake freighter, one of which, {{MV|Mark W. Barker||2}}, was commissioned by Interlake Steamship Company and entered service on July 1, 2022.{{Cite web |last=Lofton |first=Justine |date=July 6, 2022 |title=First new ship built for the Great Lakes in 35 years is underway |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/07/first-new-ship-built-on-the-great-lakes-in-35-years-is-underway.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717191713/https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/07/first-new-ship-built-on-the-great-lakes-in-35-years-is-underway.html |archive-date=July 17, 2022 |access-date=July 26, 2022 |website=Michigan Live |language=en}}

In 2023, 81.4 million tons of cargo were shipped on the Great Lakes.{{Cite web |last=matt |date=February 2, 2024 |title=U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargo float increased 6.5 percent in 2023 |url=https://www.amo-union.org/great-lakes-cargo-float-2023/ |access-date=May 31, 2024 |website=American Maritime Officers |language=en-US}} The most common cargoes include taconite, limestone, grain, salt, coal, cement, gypsum, and sand.{{Cite web |title=Lake Carriers' Association |url=https://lcaships.com/ |access-date=May 19, 2024 |website=Lake Carriers' Association |language=en-US}} The cargo is carried in large contiguous holds, not packed into containers.

The iron ore transported from the upper Great Lakes primarily supplies the steel mills of the Midwest.{{Cite web |last=Pete |first=Joseph S. |date=March 30, 2016 |title=Iron ore to flow to steel mills as Soo Locks reopen |url=https://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/iron-ore-to-flow-to-steel-mills-as-soo-locks-reopen/article_a474b533-230a-5a43-bad9-cae9eb8af45d.html |access-date=May 31, 2024 |website=nwitimes.com |language=en}} Iron ore makes up a majority of the cargo shipped annually.{{Cite book |title=Economic Impacts of the Soo Locks |date=July 2018 |publisher=Martin Associates |location=Lancaster, PA}}

The 1940s saw the rise in the use of taconite pellets, as sources of higher quality ore diminished.{{Cite web |title=Taconite |url=https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/education/geology/digging/taconite.html |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |language=en}}

File:Cason J Callaway.jpg

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|date=March 2021}}

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|date=March 2021}}

Because of their deeper draft and freshwater's lower buoyancy, salties often take on partial loads.{{Cite web |date=January 17, 2023 |title=Marine shipping in the Great Lakes: What you need to know |url=https://clearseas.org/insights/marine-shipping-in-the-great-lakes-what-you-need-to-know/ |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=ClearSeas}} Conversely, the Seaway allows smaller lakers to access the Atlantic Ocean. The larger, newer ships are restricted to the upper lakes.

{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}

Lakers feature a design distinct from their ocean-going counterparts. Because of the R. J. Hackett (1869), lake freighters typically had the bridge and associated superstructure at the bow. Additionally, a second island would be located over the engine room in the stern. In 1974, {{ship||Algosoo|ship, 1974|2}} was the final vessel designed this way.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

File:USEPA GL collection 151 DuluthHalletDockSelfunloader.jpg.]]

File:James R Barker.jpg

File:Welland canal john b aird.JPGThe more recently built lakers, like CSL Niagara, have a single large superstructure island at the stern.

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|date=March 2021}}

Another distinguishing feature of lake vessels versus ocean vessels is the cargo hatch configuration. On the lake vessels, the hatches are traditionally spaced {{convert|24|ft|m}} apart. This configuration was needed to match the chutes at loading facilities.

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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

File:MV George Stinson.jpg

The size of a lake freighter determines where it may work. The shallow draft imposed by the St. Marys River and Lake St. Clair restrict the cargo capacity of lakers.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}} Poe Lock at the Soo Locks is the largest deep lock at {{convert|1,200|ft|m}} long and {{convert|110|ft|m}} wide.{{Cite web |title=Soo Locks History |url=https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Soo-Locks-Visitor-Center/Soo-Locks-History/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714181642/http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Soo-Locks-Visitor-Center/Soo-Locks-History/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |access-date=May 14, 2024 |website=www.lre.usace.army.mil}}

Many of the larger American ships are unable to navigate the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which restricts vessel size to {{convert|740|ft|m}} in length and {{convert|78|ft|m}} in breadth.{{Cite web |title=The Seaway |url=https://greatlakes-seaway.com/en/the-seaway/ |access-date=May 15, 2024 |website=Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System |language=en-US}} Seawaymax vessels are able to access the Great Lakes and the ocean. 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 {{convert|740|ft|m}}.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Lake boats in the {{convert|600|and|700|ft|m|adj=on}} 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 serve smaller harbors around the lakes which have irregular need for their services.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}}

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|date=April 2021}}

{{See also|List of bulk carriers#Lake freighters}}These are the largest vessels on the lakes. Thirteen were built between 1976 and 1981, and all remain in service today. These are all U.S.-flagged vessels between {{convert|1000|and|1013.5|ft|m}} long, {{convert|105|ft|m}} wide and of {{convert|56|ft|m|abbr=on}} hull depth.

File:Ships-Superior-Duluth-20060928.jpg attack in the Atlantic during World War II.]]

Modern lakers are usually designed and constructed for a 45-50 year old service life, outlasting ocean-going bulk carriers.{{Cite book |last1=Waterhouse |first1=John |url=https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/5ps/Operating%20and%20Environmental%20Standards/OES-3/General%20Info/Volume%201_PublicationCopy.pdf?ver=2018-01-31-122046-873 |title=Ballast Water Treatment, U.S. Great Lakes Bulk Carrier Engineering and Cost Study |last2=Wren |first2=Reginald |last3=Johnson |first3=Mike |last4=Barczak |first4=Nicholas |last5=Lewandowski |first5=M. J. |last6=Tietje |first6=E. David |date=November 2014 |publisher=United States Coast Guard |pages=22}} As of 2023, ocean-going bulk freighters average an 11-year lifespan, due in part to the corrosive effects of saltwater.{{Cite web |title=An ageing bulk carrier fleet {{!}} Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide |url=https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/an-ageing-bulk-carrier-fleet/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=www.hellenicshippingnews.com}}Rashid, Kaosar and Oyshi, Sarah Jabin Chowdhury and Tahsin, Zarin, COMPARISON OF CORROSIVE NATURE OF SHIPBUILDING PLATES IN FRESH WATER AND SEA WATER (May 8, 2023). Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Marine Technology (MARTEC 2022), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4441299 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4441299

Some of the lakers have been known to have long careers. The {{SS|St. Marys Challenger}} launched in 1906 and worked independently until 2013. The St. Marys Challenger is still in service as a barge at 118 years old.{{Cite web |last=Bansek |first=Ed |date=November 15, 2023 |title=Meeting the Challenge: The St. Mary's Challenger |url=https://seawayreview.com/meeting-the-challenge-the-st-marys-challenger/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=Seaway Review |language=en-US}} E. M. Ford had one of the longest careers, having been built in 1898 until being sold for scrap in November 2008.{{Cite web |last=Mid-Michigan |first=Amy L. Payne {{!}} Booth |date=November 11, 2008 |title=Attempts to save oldest freighter on Great Lakes fail; E.M. Ford headed to scrapyard |url=https://www.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/11/attempts_to_save_oldest_freigh.html |access-date=May 15, 2024 |website=mlive |language=en}}

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:

• {{MV|Algoma Mariner||2}} – built by Chengxi Shipyard of Jiangyin, China, delivered in August 2011 for Algoma Central Corporation.{{Cite web |url=http://www.seawaymarinetransport-new.com/index.php?title=Fleet_Renewal |title=Fleet Renewal |website=seawaymarinetransport-new.com |access-date=April 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130044613/http://www.seawaymarinetransport-new.com/index.php?title=Fleet_Renewal |archive-date=January 30, 2011 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.seawaymarinetransport.com/images/TheCurrent71.pdf |title=SMT Announces Equinox Class of Newbuild Vessels |website=seawaymarinetransport.com |access-date=April 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727143803/http://www.seawaymarinetransport.com/images/TheCurrent71.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |url-status=dead}}

File:USCG clears ice on the St Mary River.jpg

{{see also|List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes|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 approximate 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives lost.[http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/memorial.phtml Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217111848/http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/memorial.phtml |date=December 17, 2009 }}, accessed February 28, 2009 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.[http://greatlakeshistory.homestead.com/home.html#anchor_12871 The Great Lakes Shipwreck File], David D. Swayze, October 3, 2008. 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.{{cite book |title=Graveyard of the Lakes |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tog_ll_MYrkC&q=Graveyard+of+the+Lakes+by+Mark+L.+Thompson |publisher=Wayne State University Press |location=Detroit |first=Mark L. |last=Thompson |access-date=April 16, 2009 |pages=17–18 |isbn=0814332269}}

The most recent losses of modern lakers were:

• {{SS|Edmund Fitzgerald}}, November 10, 1975, Lake Superior, 29 of 29 crew died, (unknown cause during a storm)
• {{SS|Daniel J. Morrell}}, November 29, 1966, Lake Huron, 28 of 29 crew died, (split in half by hogging during a storm)
• {{SS|Cedarville}}, May 7, 1965, Straits of Mackinac, 10 of 35 crew died, (collision with the saltie Topdalsfjord)
• {{SS|Carl D. Bradley}}, November 18, 1958, Lake Michigan, 33 of 35 crew died, (split in half by hogging during a storm)Wreck of the Carl D., Michael Schumacher, Bloomsbury, 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-59691-484-1}}.
• {{SS|Scotiadoc}}, June 20, 1953, Lake Superior, 1 of 29 crew died, (rammed by freighter Burlington in heavy fog)
• {{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 Emperor, June 4, 1947, Lake Superior, 12 of 33 crew died, (ran into rocks at Isle Royale)
• SS Superior City, August 20, 1920, Lake Superior, 29 of 33 crew died, (collision with freighter Willis L. King)

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), 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.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070701171428/http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/newsandevents/publications/publications/dredgingonthegreatlakes/ Dredging on the Great Lakes], U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, July 31, 2006.

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 and 1950 were lost during November."Shipwrecks of the Lakes", Dana T. Bowen, Freshwater Press, January 1, 1952, quoted in the U.S. Coast Guard's Board of Inquiry report on the foundering of the SS Carl D. Bradley, published 1958.

{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}

File:Edmund Fitzgerald, 1971, 3 of 4 (restored; cropped).jpg

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.{{Cite news |last=Ives |first=Mike |date=May 2, 2023 |title=How 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' Defied Top 40 Logic |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/arts/music/gordon-lightfoot-edmund-fitzgerald-song.html |access-date=April 19, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The Edmund Fitzgerald became the largest ship on the lakes at {{convert|729|ft|m}} when launched in 1958. In addition to this, the ship was regarded for its "DJ Captain", Peter Pulcer, who frequently played music to entertain onlookers.{{Cite web |last=Fisanick |first=Christina |date=May 4, 2023 |title=The Wheeling Connection to Gordon Lightfoot & His Ballad |url=https://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/the-wheeling-connection-to-gordon-lightfoot-his-ballad |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=Archiving Wheeling |language=en-US}}

{{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.{{Cite web |last=Gmiter |first=Tanda |date=November 11, 2020 |title=45 years after Edmund Fitzgerald sank, Arthur Anderson crosses Lake Superior under gale warning, snowstorm |url=https://www.mlive.com/life/2020/11/45-years-after-edmund-fitzgerald-sank-arthur-anderson-crosses-lake-superior-under-gale-warning-snowstorm.html |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=mlive |language=en}}

MV 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 MV William J. Delancy and measures 1013.5 feet (308.9 m).{{Cite web |title=M/V Paul R. Tregurtha {{!}} Interlake Steamship |url=https://www.interlake-steamship.com/our-fleet/m-v-paul-r-tregurtha/ |access-date=April 21, 2024 |website=www.interlake-steamship.com|date=January 31, 2024 }}

{{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|date=June 2016}}

Ford Motor Company's Henry Ford II and {{ship||Benson Ford|1924 ship|2}} of 1924 were the first lakeboats with diesel engines.{{Cite web |title=The Ford Fleet -- The Henry Ford Blog - Blog - The Henry Ford |url=https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/the-ford-fleet |access-date=April 21, 2024 |website=www.thehenryford.org |language=en}} The Canadian grainboat Feux-Follets of 1967 was the last laker built with a steam turbine on the lakes.File:Paul R. Tregurtha.jpg, on February 19, 2008.]]

Wilfred Sykes (1949 – {{convert|678|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) 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 – {{convert|715.9|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) 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. {{ship||Algosoo|1974 ship|2}} (1974–2015 {{convert|730|ft|m|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) was the last laker built in the classic style.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

Also of note is the steamer {{SS|Edward L. Ryerson||2}}, widely known for her artistic design and being the only remaining straight-decker still in active service on the US side of the Great Lakes.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} In mid 2006, Edward L. Ryerson was fitted out and put into service following a long-term lay-up that began in 1998. Edward L. Ryerson has been in long-term layup since 2009.{{Cite web |date=November 9, 2019 |title=Edward Ryerson returns to Cumming Slip |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/edward-ryerson-returns-to-cumming-slip |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=Duluth News Tribune |language=en}}

{{See also|List of Great Lakes museum and historic ships}}

The {{SS|William G. Mather|1925|2}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Yeoman |title=William G. Mather |url=https://museumships.us/merchantmarine/william-g-mather |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=MuseumShips |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=September 2, 2016 |title=William G. Mather Steamship |url=https://greatscience.com/explore/exhibits/william-g-mather-steamship |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=Great Lakes Science Center |language=en}}

The {{SS|William A. Irvin||2}} served as the flagship of U.S. Steel's Great Lakes fleet from 1938 to 1975. The William A. Irvin was retired in 1978 and purchased eight years later by the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and is available for touring.{{Cite web |date=June 6, 2016 |title=William A. Irvin –A History of Canal Park's Flagship |url=https://canalpark.com/the-history-of-william-a-irvin-the-flagship-of-canal-park/ |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=Canal Park}}{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2015 |title=History |url=https://decc.org/william-a-irvin/history/ |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=Duluth Entertainment Convention Center |language=en-US}}

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.{{Cite web |title=SS Meteor |url=https://superiorpublicmuseums.org/ss-meteor/ |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=Superior Public Museums |language=en-US}}

{{SS|Valley Camp||2}} launched as Louis W. Hill in 1917 and transported cargo until retiring in 1966. Two years later, in 1968, the ship arrived in Sault Ste. Marie Michigan on July 6, during the town's tri-centennial celebrations for use as a museum ship.{{Cite web |title=Valley Camp History Sault Ste Marie |url=https://www.saulthistoricsites.com/museum-ship-valley-camp/valley-camp-history/ |access-date=November 22, 2024 |website=Sault Historic Sites |language=en-US}} The museum ship displays many relics of the sinking of Edmund Fitzgerald including two of Edmund Fitzgerald{{'}}s mauled lifeboats.{{cite web |url=https://www.saulthistoricsites.com/museum-ship-valley-camp/ |title=Explore an actual Great Lakes Freighter! |work=Sault Historic Sites |access-date=September 2, 2020}}

File:Col James M Schoonmaker IMO 5077228 B Toledo 31-07-2018 (2).jpg

The 118-year-old SS St. Mary's Challenger{{'}}s pilothouse is set to be displayed in the National Museum of the Great Lakes' upcoming museum expansion.{{Cite web |title=The Second Wave – National Museum of the Great Lakes |url=https://nmgl.org/thesecondwave/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |language=en-US}}

The {{SS|Col. James M. Schoonmaker}} (formerly Willis B. Boyer) 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.{{cite web |last=Dispatch |first=Steve Stephens |title=On the waterfront: Relocated museum celebrates Great Lakes |url=https://www.dispatch.com/article/20141101/LIFESTYLE/311019660 |website=The Columbus Dispatch}} The Col. James M. Schoonmaker formerly served as a floating museum after being purchased by the City of Toledo, Ohio in 1987.{{Cite web |title=Col. James M. Schoonmaker – National Museum of the Great Lakes |url=https://nmgl.org/col-james-m-schoonmaker/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |language=en-US}}

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 John W. Boardman was renamed Lewis G. Harriman and used to store cement during the Poe Lock construction in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The ship was sold for scrap 2003, but the pilothouse and hull of Lewis G. Harriman were saved and now are used as a residence along the lake shore.{{Cite web |date=October 1, 2020 |title=John W. Boardman |url=https://greatlakesships.wordpress.com/john-w-boardman/ |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=Shipwatcher News Great Lakes Ships |language=en}}

SS John Sherwin, not sailed since 1981, is currently docked in DeTour, Michigan after conversion to a self-unloader and repowering was halted in November 2008.{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2016 |title=Shipwatching is a fun, addictive habit |url=https://www.kpcnews.com/columnists/jeff_jones/kpcnews/article_77de9e50-2581-5782-8b91-594da15b3372.html |access-date=April 20, 2024 |website=KPCNews |language=en}}

The pilothouse of SS William Clay Ford is part of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle.{{cite web |title=William Clay Ford Pilot House | Detroit Historical Society |url=https://detroithistorical.org/dossin-great-lakes-museum/exhibitions/signature-exhibitions/william-clay-ford-pilot-house |website=detroithistorical.org}} The pilothouse is open for tours and overlooks the Detroit River.

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.

MV Benson Ford was the flagship of the Ford Motor Company fleet when launched in 1924. The forward cabin and pilothouse was moved in 1986 to a cliff on South Bass Island, near the village of Put-in-Bay, Ohio in Lake Erie. It has been a private island residence since 1999 and they offer tours on select dates.{{Cite web |date=April 3, 2021 |title=History - Benson Ford Shiphouse |url=https://shiponthebay.com/history/ |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=shiponthebay.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=April 3, 2021 |title=Tours - Benson Ford Shiphouse |url=https://shiponthebay.com/tours/ |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=shiponthebay.com |language=en-US}}

File:MV Maumee, Holland, MI.JPG. Scrapped in 2012 when she was 83 years old.]]

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 the ship 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 the ship as a museum. In the end, the company failed to locate an organization that was capable and willing to preserve the ship 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3856974-one-final-sail-set-jb-ford |title=One final sail set for J.B. Ford |first=Brady |last=Slater |date=October 8, 2015 |work=Duluth News Tribune |access-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-date=July 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707020617/https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/3856974-one-final-sail-set-jb-ford |url-status=dead }}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Canal
• Glossary of nautical terms (disambiguation)
• 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

{{div col end}}

{{reflist}}

{{Commons and category|Lake freighter|Lakers (ships)}}

• [http://www.boatnerd.com Boatnerd website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110902105825/http://willisbboyer.org/index.html Willis B. Boyer website]
• [http://www.greatscience.com/mather_museum.php William G. Mather website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110217164633/http://www.thevalleycamp.com/ Valley Camp website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929032034/http://www.norisle.com/ Norisle website]
• [http://www.silversidesmuseum.org/ Great Lakes Naval Memorial & Museum – USS Silversides & USCGC McLane]

{{Greatlakes}}

{{ModernMerchantShipTypes}}

{{MARCOMships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Freighter}}

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Freighter

Category:Ship types

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