This is a list of vessels that frequent the port of Grand Haven during the shipping season.
The Algorail is owned by Algoma Central Corperation of St. Catherines, Ontario. She was built in 1968 and has kept her name her entire life. While she is a fairly small ship in Algoma's large fleet, she keeps busy in the salt and stone trades, with salt loads coming from Goderich, Ontario, and stone loads coming from either Meldrum Bay/Bruce Mines/Thessalon. With replacements coming in soon, the Algorail's time is short.
(Above, unloading at Verplanks in Fall 2014)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Algoway is owned by Algoma Central. She has made 1-2 yearly trips to Grand Haven in the past, and usually brings in salt from Goderich, Ontario. The ship was built in 1972 and is 646 feet in length. With replacements coming in soon, the Algoway's time is short.
(Above, the Algoway clears port)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ashtabula is a 610 foot barge built in 1982 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for use on saltwater, which is why her design may look a lot different than other vessels around the lakes today. She is pushed by the tug Defiance which measures 145 feet and was built the same year. The pair sailed around the Mississippi River and Tampa Bay area until 2012, when their new owners, Lower Lakes, purchased them and brought them back to the lakes. It is interesting to note that their unloading boom was 80 feet long while operating on saltwater- an impractical piece of machinery for the lakes. The solution was to fit a 260 boom onto the barge, which was originally a part of the scrapped laker Joseph H. Frantz.
(Above, the pair passes by Waterfront Stadium, fall 2013)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Calumet is a 630 foot river class vessel, owned by Lower Lakes. The Calumet usually brings in coal from South Chicago, slag from Burns Harbor, or stone products from Port Inland/Cedarville/Drummond Island. The vessel was built in 1973 and was renamed Calumet in 2008 after she was purchased by Lower Lakes.
(Above, the Calumet backs out of Grand Haven, August 2011)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cuyahoga was built in 1943 and is 620 feet long. She was the first ship to wear the Lower Lakes paint job of gray and white with a red stripe, after being their first ship purchases in 1995. She brings various stone products from Meldrum Bay/Bruce Mines/Thessalon.
(Above, Cuyahoga backs out in August 2010)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Manistee is another 1943 veteran, but brought under the banner of Lower Lakes in 2005. She brings stone from Port Inland/Cedarville/Drummond Island and brought in slag from Burns Harbor last year. When the sand-export dock known as Construction Aggregates was still open, she frequented that dock.
(Above, departing Grand Haven, December 2013)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manitowoc is a twin of the river class ship Calumet, also 630 feet and built in 1973. She carries a variety of cargoes to Grand Haven, such as stone, slag and coal. She has been a frequent visitor to the port in past years, with ten to twelve stops in a season since starting to sail with Lower Lakes in 2008.
(Above, backing out of port, June 2014)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The handsome Mississagi, like the Cuyahoga and Manistee, was built in 1943. She is Canadian, and is the most frequent vessel to fly the maple leaf to come in to Grand Haven. Most Canadian ships come in 1-2 times a year but the Mississagi has been known to exceed that number. She brings stone and trap rock from Meldrum Bay/Bruce Mines/Thessalon to the D&M and Verplanks docks.
(Above, making the turn by Snug Harbor in May 2014)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The barge Lewis J. Kuber, a former steamship known as the Buckeye,
sails with the tug Olive L. Moore in the notch. They bring stone to the port and are an
infrequent visitor to both Verplanks and D&M.
(Above, Olive L. Moore pushes her barge inbound)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A very common sight in Grand Haven is that of the small tug/barge combination Pere Marquette 41/Undaunted. The Pere Marquette 41 was formerly a car ferry, the City of Midland 41. She was barged and the Undaunted now pushes her. They bring many things to the port.
(Above, unloading at Verplanks in 2010)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The St. Marys Challenger was formerly the oldest self-powered ship on the Great Lakes at 106 years old. In November of 2013, she made her last visit to Grand Haven and she went to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin shortly after to be turned into a barge. She sails now with the tug Prentiss Brown in the notch. The pair carries cement.
(Above, unloading on one of her last trips to the port in 2013)
(Above, inbound, January 2015)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The St. Marys Conquest is another cement barge. She is pushed by the tug Prentiss Brown. The pair has usually opened the port for the season in late March. They can bring product from Charlevoix, Milwaukee, or Chicago.
(Above, bow view at the cement dock, Spring 2014)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wilfred Sykes is the only steamer that visits Grand Haven. She was built in 1949 and was considered a prototype for future vessels in that era. The Sykes is the main slag boat, bringing it from Burns Harbor to Verplanks and Meekoff's D&M. Her trade routes rarely let her leave Lake Michigan, as she shuttles stone products from Port Inland/Cedarville to Indiana/Burns Harbor.
(Above, coming into port on July 1st, 2014)
