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Photo of the Badger in dry dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay in 2021. Submitted photo.
LUDINGTON — The SS Badger will be placed into dry dock this spring for repairs in preparation of the upcoming sailing season. The Badger’s official 2025 sailing season will begin on Friday, May 16 when it departs Ludington for Manitowoc, Wis. Prior to that, however, the 410-foot ship will sail to Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. where it will undergo a propeller shaft bearing repair.
The Badger is tentatively scheduled to leave Ludington on Tuesday, April 29 for the 12-hour journey.
The 410-foot Badger will travel to Sturgeon Bay under its own power.
“This trip is being made under our own power instead of under tow because we are so close to our sailing season we will already have a crew getting the boat ready to sail,” said Badger Chief Engineer Andrew VerVelde. “It takes two to three weeks of ‘fit out’ prior to the season, which involves getting her engines and machinery ready. Since the crew is going to be aboard anyway we might as well steam her over. It has been done before, but not recently.”
The Badger was built by Christy Corporation in Sturgeon Bay in 1953, located at the same facilities now owned by FBS. Rather than traveling through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, the vessel will take a northern route to the tip of the Door Peninsula and Washington Island from Lake Michigan into Sturgeon Bay. It will then travel south back to the city of Sturgeon Bay.
VerVelde said the repairs to the propeller shaft bearing requires taking the boat out of the water and removing its 13-foot, 10-inch starboard propeller. This repair is different than the Badger’s routine five-year dry dock inspection which last took place over the winter of 2021-2022.
The Badger is expected to return around May 10.
“It is the priority of Lake Michigan Carferry and our parent company, Interlake Maritime Services, to keep the Badger in its best working condition,” said Sara Spore, general manager of Lake Michigan Carferry. “Having these repairs done now will reduce interruptions to our summer sailing season.”
The propeller shaft repairs are not the only current major repairs for LMC. Since the end of the 2024 sailing season, crews from Al Bufka Construction of Manistee have been rebuilding the 95-year-old apron decking which is the second phase of the counter-weight replacement that took place in 2023-2024.
The apron at “No. 2 Slip” was constructed by the Pere Marquette Railway in 1930 and still contained rail tracks.
“The new apron decking will provide a much safer and smoother loading and unloading experience for vehicles,” Spore said. “These are repairs that have been needed for many years and we are thankful for Interlake’s commitment to assuring the Badger will sail for many years to come.”
About the SS Badger
The SS Badger began service in 1953 as a train, auto, and passenger ferry. Today, the ship operates between May and October as an auto and passenger ferry. It is also capable of transporting commercial vehicles. The 410-foot ship travels an official designated extension of US 10 on Lake Michigan between Ludington, Mich. and Manitowoc, Wis. It is the last steamship to operate on the Great Lakes and is a registered National Landmark. The Badger is owned and operated by Lake Michigan Carferry, a subsidiary of Interlake Maritime Services, an American-owned company based in Cleveland, Ohio and one of the largest shipping companies on the Great Lakes.
The 2025 sailing season begins Friday, May 16. To reserve tickets visit ssbadger.com or call 800-841-4243 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET).
Photo of the Badger’s starboard rutter in dry dock at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay in 2021. Submitted photo.
Current construction of the Slip No. 2 apron.
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