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This Great Lakes Boat Blog is presented by Manistee Harbor Tours, operator of the Princess of Manistee. Book your cruise at www.manisteeharbortours.com.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
MANISTEE — The MV Calumet became the first freighter to visit Manistee Harbor this shipping season when it arrived Sunday afternoon.
The Calumet was en route to the TES Filer City dock with a load of coal picked up in South Chicago, Illinois.
The ship is operated by Grand River Navigation of Traverse City, a subsidiary of Mainstay Maritime, formerly Rand Logistics, of Williamsville, New York.
The Calumet was built by American Shipbuilding Co. in Lorain, Ohio, in 1973 for Union Commerce Bank of Ohio and was managed by Kinsman Marine Transit. It was originally christened William R. Roesch.
The vessel sailed for Pringle Transit Co., a subsidiary of Oglebay-Norton Marine, until 1994. In 1994, it was transferred to Oglebay-Norton, which renamed it David Z. Norton in 1995 in honor of the company’s founder.
In 2006, Oglebay-Norton’s fleet of River Class ships was sold to Grand River Navigation and Wisconsin and Michigan Steamship Co., owned by Sand Products Corp. of Muskegon. The ship’s name was then shortened to David Z.
In 2008, the vessel was sold to Rand Logistics and renamed Calumet after the original Calumet, which was built in 1929 for U.S. Steel and scrapped in 2007.
The Calumet is 630 feet long, 68 feet wide and has a depth of 36 feet, 11 inches. It is propelled by two Alco V16 diesel engines and can travel up to 14 knots, or about 16 mph.
It is one of three sister ships. The others are the Manitowoc and the Robert S. Pierson, originally known as the Earl W. Oglebay and the Wolverine, respectively.
The Manitowoc and the Calumet are operated by Grand River Navigation. The Robert S. Pierson had been operated by Grand River Navigation’s Canadian partner, Lower Lakes Towing of Port Dover, Ontario, but was recently sold to Algoma Central Corp.
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