Video by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — The MV Manitowoc arrived late Saturday evening, Aug. 16, at Ludington. It unloaded half its cargo at the Rieth-Riley Ludington dock and then proceeded to Manistee to unload the rest.
The self-unloading River Class vessel was built in 1973 by American Shipbuilding Co., Lorrain, Ohio for
Union Commerce Bank and managed by Kinsman Marine Transit. It was originally named the Paul Thayer. In 1976, it was sold to Pringle Transit Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, a subsidiary of Oglebay Norton Co. In 1994 it was transferred to Oglebay Norton Co. The next year, it was renamed the Earl W. Oglebay. In 2006, it was sold to Wisconsin & Michigan Steamship Co., Lakewood, Ohio, a subsidiary of Sand Products Corp. of Muskegon, Michigan, and was chartered to Lower Lakes Transportation Co., Williamsville, NY. It received the name Earl W. in 2007.
In 2008, it was sold to Grand River Navigation Co., a subsidiary of Rand Logistics Inc., Jersey City, NJ, and renamed Manitowoc.
The Manitowoc is 630 feet long, 70 feet wide and has a depth of 37 feet. It utilizes a 260-foot unloading boom and has an unloading rate of 5,000 tons per hour. It operates with diesel engines with a total of 5,600 horsepower.
The Manitowoc was one of three ships built almost identical. Her American sister ship is Calumet, which began as the William R. Roesch in 1973; renamed David Z. Norton in 1995; David Z in 2007 and then Calumet in 2008.
Their Canadian sister ship is the Robert S. Pierson, which was called the Wolverine from its debut in 1974 to 2008. It is operated by Lower Lakes Towing LTD, Port Doover, Ont., also a subsidiary of Rand Logistics, Inc.
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