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This MCP Boat Blog is presented by Manistee Harbor Tours, operator of the Princess of Manistee, and the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, www.masoncountymihistory.org.
Photos and story by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — The arrival of the 630-foot MV Calumet created a busy maritime scene Thursday evening as the freighter, the SS Badger and dozens of salmon-fishing boats converged near the Ludington harbor entrance.
The Calumet was expected to arrive about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, carrying limestone loaded at Port Inland in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The vessel delivered part of its cargo to the Great Lakes Materials terminal on Pere Marquette Lake, operated by Rieth-Riley Construction.
The freighter’s arrival was coordinated with the departure of the Badger, which left its Ludington dock about 15 minutes early, at 8:30 p.m., as the Calumet lined up to enter the channel.
After clearing the pierheads, the Badger initially turned southwest to provide room for the inbound freighter. It later repositioned to the west for its overnight crossing to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
The maneuver offered a scene reminiscent of an earlier period in Ludington’s maritime history when the Badger and other railroad carferries traveled between Ludington and Milwaukee. Regular carferry service to Milwaukee from Ludington ended more than four decades ago.
Adding to the evening scene was a full moon rising in the east ahead of a near-total partial lunar eclipse. The penumbral phase of the eclipse was expected to begin at 9:23 p.m., followed by the partial eclipse at 11:12 p.m. The eclipse was expected to peak at 12:12 a.m. Friday, when most of the moon would be covered by Earth’s shadow.
While the two vessels maneuvered near the harbor, dozens of private boats were fishing for salmon in Lake Michigan and along the channel. The late-summer salmon season frequently brings heavy recreational boat traffic to the Ludington shoreline, particularly during the early morning and evening hours.
The fishing boats appeared small alongside the 410-foot Badger and the much larger Calumet. Boats in the channel moved aside as the freighter passed between the Ludington North Breakwater Light and the south pier.
The evening scene included four large vessels visible from the Ludington shoreline. In the distance, the Badger appeared as a small, bright dot after turning away from the harbor. Farther offshore were two Badger fleet mates from the Interlake Steamship Co. fleet: the 826-foot Lee A. Tregurtha to the south and the 1,013-foot Paul R. Tregurtha farther out on Lake Michigan. Nearing the channel was the Calumet.
The Calumet was built in 1973 by American Ship Building Co. in Lorain, Ohio. It was originally named William R. Roesch and was owned by Union Commerce Bank of Ohio and managed by Kinsman Marine Transit Co.
The self-unloading bulk carrier was later named David Z. Norton and David Z. before receiving the name Calumet in 2008. It has a 68-foot beam, a cargo capacity of about 19,650 tons and a 260-foot unloading boom.
The Calumet is operated by Grand River Navigation of Traverse City, a subsidiary of Mainstay Maritime of Williamsville, New York. Grand River Navigation operates several smaller Great Lakes self-unloading vessels capable of entering ports and river systems that cannot accommodate the lake’s 1,000-foot freighters.
After completing its Ludington discharge, the Calumet departed at about 3 a.m. Friday and continued north to Manistee. It arrived there at approximately 6 a.m. and was scheduled to unload the remainder of its limestone at Rieth-Riley’s terminal on Manistee Lake before departing around noon.
The Lee A. Tregurtha has one of the most distinctive histories of any vessel operating on the Great Lakes. It was built in 1942 as the 501-foot U.S. Navy tanker Chiwawa. The vessel served in both the Atlantic and Pacific during World War II, earned two battle stars and was present in Tokyo Bay when Japan formally surrendered Sept. 2, 1945.
Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. acquired the vessel and converted it for Great Lakes service. It was lengthened twice, eventually reaching 826 feet, and converted into a self-unloader. The vessel was renamed Lee A. Tregurtha in 1989 after joining the Interlake fleet. Its steam propulsion system was replaced with diesel engines in 2006.
The Paul R. Tregurtha is the longest vessel on the Great Lakes. The 1,013-foot self-unloader was built in 1981 at American Ship Building Co. in Lorain as the William J. DeLancey. It was renamed Paul R. Tregurtha in 1990.
Known as the “Queen of the Lakes,” the Paul R. Tregurtha can carry approximately 68,000 gross tons of taconite pellets or 71,000 net tons of coal. Its five cargo holds can be emptied in about eight hours using a 260-foot unloading boom.
The Badger was built in 1952 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and entered service in 1953 for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Originally designed to carry railroad cars, automobiles and passengers, it now operates seasonally between Ludington and Manitowoc. The coal-fired steamship was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016.
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