By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
This Great Lakes Boat Blog is presented by Hankwitz Heating & Cooling, 609 S. Washington Ave., Ludington; 231-843-2809.
MANISTEE — The M.V. Algoma Buffalo was anchored about two miles off the shore of Manistee most of the day on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. The ship had been anchored off of Kewaunee, Wis. Sunday and was scheduled to arrive in Manistee on Monday around noon for delivery of salt to Rieth-Riley Construction’s dock on Manistee Lake. As of 9:30 p.m., it was still anchored off shore.
The Algoma Buffalo was built in 1978 by Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. for the American Steamship Company and named after the city of Buffalo, NY. It was registered in Wilmington, Delaware.
The ship was initially used to transport iron ore, coal, limestone, and gypsum on the Great Lakes and on the St. Lawrence Seaway.
`Ownership of the ship was transferred to Lawrence Steamship Company in 1983 which kept it registered in Wilmington. In 1989, the Connecticut Bank and Trust took over ownership. Its ownership returned to Lawrence Steamship Company in 1997.
In 2017, Algoma Central Corporation purchased the ship and renamed it Algoma Buffalo, re-registering it to St. Catharines, Ontario. It is now used to transport construction materials and road salt.
The ship is 634 feet long, 68 feet wide with a depth of 42 feet. It has a carrying capacity of 24,457 tons deadweight. It is powered by two 3,600 brake-horsepower single-acting two-stroke cycle, V-20 cylinder diesel engines that were constructed by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors Corporation. It has a maximum speed of 14 knots (16 mph). It is equipped with both a 1,000 hp bow thruster and a 600 hp stern thruster.
Algoma Buffalo features a 250-foot discharge boom that uses a belt gravity system and an incline elevator capable of discharging up to 5,900 metric tons per hour.
This Great Lakes Boat Blog is presented by Hankwitz Heating & Cooling, 609 S. Washington Ave., Ludington; 231-843-2809
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