MV Manitowoc is second freighter to visit Ludington this season

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

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Before we get started, I realize that I have been posting a lot of Boat Blogs lately and I can promise you that you’ll be seeing even more. I believe that the maritime industry is a key part of the heritage of our community and vital to the economy not only of our area but all of the Great Lakes.

Additionally, there is a strong interest in following the ships. When you head down to the shoreline to watch a ship arrive or depart the harbor, there is always a considerable crowd gathered. Not only is shipping vital to the economy and our heritage, but ship watching is a popular past-time. This morning I received a compliment from a reader while I was photographing the Manitowoc’s departure. Thanks, Andy, for the conversation and for assuring me that this is a valuable service.

Plus, as a photographer, you sometimes need to find a muse to help enrich your creativity. I find it invigorating chasing the ships. It’s a test of patience and strategy.

I am passionate about the shipping industry and have a deep admiration for those who work on the ships and the sacrifices they make for their themselves and their families. They deserve to be celebrated and their industry merits documentation for historical prosperity.

LUDINGTON — The MV Manitowoc became the second freighter to visit the port of Ludington this shipping season, bringing a load of stone to the Ludington Reith-Riley Construction dock.

Last week, the Manitowoc’s sister ship, the MV Calumet, was the first freighter of the season to visit Ludington, also bringing stone to Reith-Riley. Her visit was short today, as she was only bringing a partial load to Ludington, with the rest being unloaded at the Manistee Reith-Riley dock.

This was my third encounter this season with the 630-foot-long Manitowoc. My first was April 9 when she made her Manistee seasonal debut. The second was last Sunday, May 11, when she returned to Manistee. So, I started my week and ended it photographing the Manitowoc.

I started monitoring the Manitowoc Friday evening when she left Gary, Indiana. Unfortunately, her destination and estimated time of arrival wasn’t showing up on the Marine Traffic App, but thanks to some other Boat Nerds who keep better track then me, I was able to have an idea of when she would be in Ludington.

I left my house in Scottville about 6:15 a.m. and headed into Ludington — in the pouring rain. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to launch the drone, but thought if I could, I would at least get some traditional shoreline images.

My first Ludington destination is always Loomis Street Boat Ramps. This is a nice central location to launch the drone because there is a clear line-of-sight of the pier and then the harbor. I don’t like to send the drone much farther than the carferry docks when I’m controlling it from Loomis Street Boat Ramps.

As I was making my way down Ludington Avenue, I glanced to the south when I crossed Lewis Street — and saw the Manitowoc’s stern as she was turning into Pere Marquette Lake. I missed her entering the pier. So, I redirected myself towards the Ludington Boat Club off of Delia Street where I tried to wait out the weather.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, I knew the rain wouldn’t be letting up for at least another hour. I made my way to my other assignment, covering the planting of the Ludington Petunia Parade knowing Manitowoc wasn’t going anywhere for at least three hours.

Typically, based on knowledge of those other Boat Nerds, the river class freighters take about six hours to completely unload. Since she was only unloading half the load, I figured I had about three hours.

I headed to my usual Ludington office space — The Book Mark — to have some hot coffee and to edit some photos. At 10:30 a.m. I made my way back to see if the Manitowoc was done with unloading. I was pretty much spot on. The black smoke puffed from her stacks about 10:40.

Though the winds were gusting a little more than I would have liked, my DJI Air 3 drone handled them like a boss. The lighting was great, a nice mix of grey-blue clouds and a touch of sunlight. I was able to get the Manitowoc making her departure from Pere Marquette Lake and then out the channel. It was a good day.

The Manitowoc is a River Class vessel owned by Rand Logistics and operated under its subsidiary Grand River Navigation Company. The self-unloading vessel was built in 1973 and was purchased by Rand in 2008. The Manitowoc is designed to carry a variety of cargo types including grain, iron ore, coal, aggregates, salt and other bulk commodities. She has a 260-foot unloading boom and has an unloading rate of 5,000 tons per hour and operates with diesel engines with a total of 5,600 horsepower.

As mentioned above, the Manitowoc has a sister ship in the Company’s U.S flagged fleet, the MV Calumet, and another with the Company’s Canadian-flagged fleet, the MV Robert S. Pierson.

More photos can be seen on the MCP Instagram page and even more exclusively to subscribers (see information below).

The Mason County Historical Society is a non-profit charitable organization that was founded in 1937 that does not receive any governmental funding. It owns and operates the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum in Ludington, Historic White Pine Village in Pere Marquette Township, and The Rose Hawley Archives and the Mason County Emporium and Sweet Shop in downtown Ludington.

For more information about donating to and/or joining the Mason County Historical Society, visit masoncountymihistory.org.

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