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MCP Boat Blog is a presentation of the Mason County Historical Society’s Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, ludingtonmaritimemuseum.org, located at 217 S. Lakeshore Dr., Ludington.
Documenting west Michigan’s commercial and recreational maritime industry.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Thursday, May 8, 2025.
The MV Calumet was the first freighter to visit Ludington harbor this shipping season, arriving — finally — Thursday morning. It had been scheduled to make port Wednesday afternoon, but ended up spending the night anchored offshore, presumably due to the northerly winds.
According to Marine Traffic, it was scheduled to arrive in Ludington about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. I rushed into town, coming from my daughter’s track meet in Montague, only to find the Calumet stationary offshore. So, I waited. And, waited. Finally, I left. Went home and ate dinner. Then, I came back. It was still offshore. I left again after more waiting. Ended up covering a house fire in Fountain. Then, about 10:30 p.m. came back to Loomis Street Boat Ramp again, having checked the weather and observing the winds had gone down. She still didn’t move.
I returned just after 6 a.m. Thursday… and waited. Finally, at 6:30 a.m. black smoke puffed out of the 630-foot-long ship. It slowly turned around in Lake Michigan and headed into Ludington.
The Calumet finally made its way into Ludington harbor an hour later.
The MV Calumet was built by American Shipbuilding Co. in Lorain, Ohio in 1973 for the Union Commerce Bank, Ohio, managed by Kinsman Marine Transit. It was originally christened as the William R. Roesch. It sailed for Pringle Transit Company, a subsidiary of Oglebay-Norton Marine, from 1976 to 1994. In 1994, it was transferred to Oglebay-Norton, which, in 1995, renamed it David Z. Norton, in honor of the company’s founder.
In 2006, Oglebay-Norton’s fleet of River Class ships were sold to Grand River Navigation and the Wisconsin and Michigan Steamship Co. Its name was then changed to David Z. In 2008, it was sold to Rand Logistics, Inc. of Jersey City, NJ and renamed Calumet after the original Calumet that was built in 1929 for US Steel and scrapped in 2007. The ship is now operated by Grand River Navigation Co. of Traverse City, a division of Rand Logistics.
The Calumet has a breadth of 68 feet and a depth of 36-feet, 11-inches. Its sister ship, Manitowoc, makes frequent trips to Ludington and Manistee.
More photos available on the MCP Instagram page (www.instagram.com/masoncopress) and on the Daily Briefing email newsletter, available to subscribers.
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