Caroline McKee/Commander, foreground, Olive L. Moore/Menominee, background.
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 22, 2025
FERRYSBURG — Today was a two-for-one special in Ferrysburg/Grand Haven for west Michigan ship watchers. Two tug/barges, the Olive L. Moore/Menominee and Caroline McKee/Commander were unloading construction aggregates at the Verplank Dock Co. along the Grand River.
As a history buff, I have to admit that I was unaware of the legacies I was photographing this morning until I returned and started researching them for this blog. The four vessels make up a combined 291 years of service. The Olive L. Moore’s is likely one of the longest operating commercial vessels on the Great Lakes, and possibly in the United States, it is 97-years-old!
Olive L. Moore tug and Menominee barge, foreground
Olive L. Moore/Menominee
The tug Olive L. Moore was built as the John F. Cushing in 1928 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. in Manitowoc, Wis. for the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. of Chicago. In 1965, the tug was sold to Chicago Marine Fueling Service, Chicago, and renamed James E. Skelly. In 1968, it was purchased by Socony Mobil Oil Co. of New York, NY and renamed Olive L. Moore. The tug was grounded on Lake Michigan on May 5, 1966 while en route to Rockland, Maine and was laid up. U.S. Marshals sold her in 1968 to South Range Aggregate Co. of South Range, Mich.
The Moore was then rebuilt and re-powered with new Fairbanks-Morse engines. In 1969 it was acquired by Escanaba Towing Co. of Escanaba. It was frequently used to move the barges Wiltranco, A.E. Nettleton, and O.S. McFarland on the Great Lakes until the company’s operations ended in 1972.
Arlene Stopich of Escanaba then owned the Moore from 1974 to 1977. Clyde VanEnkevort owned it from 1977 to 1980.
In 1980, it was transferred to the newly-formed Upper Lakes Towing Company of Escanaba and was rebuilt and re-powered, with two Alco engines. For the next decade it was used to push and tow the self-unloading crane barge Buckeye.
In 1991, when the Buckeye was retired, the Moore was converted to an articulated tug with a Hydraconn coupler system. It was mated with the self-unloading barge McKee Sons, based out of Muskegon.
The tug Invincible began pushing the McKee Sons in 2000, and the Moore was removed from regular service. It was laid up in Escanaba, where its Hydraconn system was removed.
From 2000 to 2005, the Moore saw very limited service. In 2006, it was sold to KK Integrated Logistics of Menominee, and converted back into an articulated tug with a new Hydraconn coupler system. Its cabins were rebuilt again, and a new raised pilothouse was added. The Moore re-entered service later that year, paired with the self-unloading barge Lewis J. Kuber.
In 2011, the pair was purchased by Grand River Navigation of Traverse City, a subsidiary of Grand River Navigation – Rand Logistics of New York. In 2017, the barge was renamed Menominee. The pair are registered out of Cleveland.
The Menominee was originally built as a straight deck bulker at Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s Bethlehem-Sparrows Shipyard in Sparrows Point, Md. in 1952. In 1980, it became a self-unloading vessel. In 2006, it was converted to an articulated self-unloading notched barge.
The Olive L. Moore is 125-feet long with a breadth of 39-feet and a depth of 13-feet. The Menominee is 628-feet long with a breadth of 70 feet and a depth of 37 feet. Combined, the tug/barge is 728-feet long.
Caroline McKee tug and Commander barge; the Grand Valley State University research vessel D.J. Angus passing by.
Caroline McKee/Commander
The Caroline McKee was built as the David P. Guidry in 1972 by Main Iron Works, Inc. of Houma, La. for the American Offshore Fleet Co., Inc. of Galliano, La. In 1981, it was sold and renamed the Thunder. In 1990, it was acquired by Gulf Coast Transit, Inc., a subsidiary of the Tampa Electric Co. of Tampa, Fla. and was renamed Sharon DeHart.
In 1990, the Sharon DeHart was outfitted with a Bludworth coupler system and was used with the barge Doris Guenther.
In 2002, Gulf Coast Transit Co. became the TECO Ocean Shipping Co. of Tampa and the tug retained its name. In 2007, that company was acquired by Greenstreet Equity Partners of Miami.
In 2013, the tug was acquired by United Ocean Services, LLC. of Tampa and was renamed Coastal 303. The barge was renamed Alabama Enterprise.
The tug was acquired in 2018 by Dawn Marine Services, Inc. of Gretna, La. and was renamed Southern Dawn.
In 2019, Port City Marine Services (Sand Products Corp.) of Muskegon purchased the tug and it was renamed Caroline McKee.
Caroline McKee is 169-feet long with a breadth of 127 feet and a depth of 12 feet.
Commander was built as barge M-211 in 1957 by Todd Shipyards Corp., Houston, Texas. It was widened 11 feet in 1959 and re-built as a pipe-laying barge at Avondale Marine Ways, Avondale, La.
In 1992 it was lengthened and converted to a self-unloading bulk carrier barge at Toledo Shipyard, Toledo, Ohio. A bow thruster was also installed that year.
In 2011, its barge notch was lengthened and modified for a Bludworth type ATB coupler at Donjon Shipbuilding & Repair, Erie, Penn.
In 2017 to 2019, its bow was reconstructed at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. It was also converted to a self-unloading cement carrier.
Its names have included Virginia, 1981 to 1988; C-11, 1988 to 1993; Kellstone 1, 1993 to 2004; Cleveland Rocks, 2004 to 2018.
The Commander is 495-feet long with a breadth of 71 feet and a depth of 27 feet.
Sources; Great Lakes Tugs & Workboats website; “Know Your Ships” book, Rand Logistics, Inc. website, Great Lakes Ships website
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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