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Cadet Liam Filson stands on the forward section of the loading deck.
The MCP Boat Blog is presented by the Mason County Historical Society and its Port of Ludington Maritime Museum.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
Editor’s note: For the past several years, I have made it a personal mission to tell the stories of the Great Lakes maritime industry and, especially, the people who work aboard its vessels. As someone who has spent much of my life watching, photographing and studying these ships, I believe their stories deserve to be told.
Documenting the industry is important for preserving its history, but it is equally important for its future. Great Lakes shipping plays a vital role in our nation’s economy, and its continued success depends on attracting new generations of skilled mariners.
Recently, I spent five days aboard the SS Wilfred Sykes, a 1949 steam-powered freighter operated by Central Marine Logistics. This series explores the ship, the work it performs and, most importantly, the people who keep it sailing.
ABOARD THE SS WILFRED SYKES — Liam Filson, 22, of Cleveland, Ohio, knew one thing when he graduated from high school: He didn’t want to spend his working life sitting behind a desk.
He wanted to be on the water.
That decision led him to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City, where he is now a third-year cadet preparing for a career as a licensed deck officer in the United States Merchant Marine.
Cadet Filson stands watch in the pilot house as the sun sets over Lake Michigan.
Filson is spending 90 days aboard the SS Wilfred Sykes, a Great Lakes bulk freighter operated by Central Marine Logistics. The assignment is his first commercial sea project, essentially an internship that allows him to apply what he has learned in the classroom to life aboard a working ship.
“I didn’t really want an office job,” Filson said. “I also love just being out on the water.”
His responsibilities aboard the Sykes are straightforward.
“My job is to listen and learn and don’t break anything,” he said.
The Sykes provides an opportunity to learn aboard a vessel with a long history. Built in 1949 by the American Ship Building Co. in Lorain, Ohio, for Inland Steel Co., the ship was the first new American-built Great Lakes freighter constructed following World War II. It was also the largest vessel on the lakes when it entered service.
More than 75 years later, the steam-powered ship continues hauling bulk cargo on the Great Lakes.
For Filson, the experience is part of the education needed to eventually take command of a vessel like the Sykes.
Engine order telegraph in the Skyes’ pilothouse.
Training the next generation of mariners
The Great Lakes Maritime Academy is part of Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. Established in 1969, it is one of six state maritime academies in the country and the only one located on freshwater.
The academy offers a four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Technology, with separate programs for deck officers and engineering officers.
Deck cadets study navigation, seamanship, ship stability, cargo operations, maritime law, safety and other subjects necessary to operate large commercial vessels. Engineering cadets concentrate on the mechanical and technical systems that power and operate ships.
In addition to classroom instruction, cadets are required to spend hundreds of days at sea, gaining practical experience aboard training and commercial vessels.
Filson began his shipboard training aboard the academy’s training ship, State of Michigan, a former Navy vessel based in Traverse City. The academy uses the ship as a floating classroom, allowing cadets to become familiar with shipboard operations before moving on to commercial assignments.
The program includes three sea projects, during which cadets serve aboard the training ship or commercial vessels on the Great Lakes and oceans.
Filson’s assignment aboard the Sykes is his first experience on a commercial freighter as a cadet.
“I’m doing 90 days out here to get some practical experience,” he said.
During that time, he observes and works alongside licensed officers, learning about navigation, bridge operations and the day-to-day responsibilities involved in moving a large vessel safely between ports.
Filson, right, tosses a line to Ordinary Seaman Josh Larson of Pillager, Minn.
Becoming a mate and eventually a captain
Completing the academy’s deck officer program puts cadets on a path toward earning a U.S. Coast Guard license as a third mate of unlimited tonnage for the Great Lakes and oceans.
A third mate is an entry-level licensed deck officer responsible for duties that can include standing navigational watches, overseeing safety equipment and assisting with cargo operations.
The term “unlimited tonnage” means the credential is not restricted to vessels below a particular tonnage. It does not, however, qualify its holder to serve as captain.
Advancement through the officer ranks requires additional qualifying sea service and meeting Coast Guard licensing requirements.
A third mate can advance to second mate, then chief mate, commonly called first mate aboard Great Lakes freighters, and eventually master.
For unlimited-tonnage ocean licenses, the standard advancement process generally involves at least one year of qualifying service at each level, along with required training, assessments and examinations, although alternative qualifying routes are available.
A master’s license is the highest deck officer credential and qualifies its holder to command vessels within the authority of that license.
The academy’s engineering graduates follow a separate licensing path, becoming eligible for Coast Guard credentials as third assistant engineers of steam and motor vessels of any horsepower. They can eventually advance through the engineering ranks to chief engineer.
Great Lakes pilotage: A specialized qualification
One distinction of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy is its pilotage training.
Unlike other American maritime academies, the Traverse City school incorporates preparation for first-class Great Lakes pilotage into its regular deck officer program.
Pilotage is the specialized skill of navigating ships through restricted or challenging waters, including rivers, narrow channels, harbor entrances and areas with significant vessel traffic.
Cadet Liam Filson poses beneath the nameplate of the SS Wilfred Sykes, which adorns the ship’s pilothouse.
The Great Lakes present challenges that differ from open-ocean navigation. A vessel moving through the St. Marys River, Detroit River or other confined waterways must contend with bends, currents, shallow areas and opposing ship traffic.
The Coast Guard requires specific pilotage qualifications for navigating designated waters aboard large American commercial vessels.
A first-class pilot endorsement is separate from a mate’s or master’s license. It is issued for particular waterways and requires demonstrated familiarity with those routes, documented trips and examinations. Holding a pilotage endorsement for one waterway does not automatically authorize a mariner to pilot a vessel through every restricted channel on the Great Lakes.
Graduates of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy’s deck program meet the general sea-service requirement for Great Lakes first-class pilotage, but they must still satisfy the applicable route qualifications and examinations.
On domestic Great Lakes freighters, qualified deck officers may hold these pilotage endorsements themselves. That differs from the separate registered-pilot system used by foreign vessels and American vessels engaged in foreign trade on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.
The academy’s combination of unlimited-tonnage deck officer training and Great Lakes pilotage preparation is particularly valuable for students who want to build careers aboard lake freighters.
A future on the lakes
For Filson, the attraction of working on the Great Lakes goes beyond simply being aboard a ship.
He particularly enjoys the challenge of navigating rivers and other confined waterways.
“I really enjoy inland navigation. I really enjoy the rivers,” he said. “It’s challenging. You’ve got traffic, you’ve got shoals, you’ve got turns and bends and currents, which really keeps things interesting.”
His immediate goal is to graduate, earn his third mate’s license and begin working as a licensed officer aboard a Great Lakes freighter.
Eventually, he hopes to become a captain.
“I really love it out here on the lakes,” he said.
For now, his classroom is a 77-year-old steamship, and his teachers are the experienced mariners who keep it operating.
The lessons he is learning aboard the Sykes are preparing him for the day when he will be the one responsible for navigating a ship through those same waters.
Aboard the Wilfred Sykes: Part 8. AB Matt Uhlbeck at the wheel and behind the lens
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