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Chuck Leonard stands at the bow of the Pere Marquette 41 barge at the Verplank Trucking Co. dock in Ferrysburg.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — Long-time car ferry/shipping veteran Chuck Leonard has been put in charge of all Interlake Maritime Services in Ludington, which include Lake Michigan Carferry, operator of the SS Badger.
Leonard, a Ludington native, is also general manager of Interlake Logistics Solutions, a division of Interlake Maritime Services, that operates the tug/barge Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41, formerly known as Pere Marquette Shipping.
“Chuck was the clear choice to maintain the highest level of service throughout our Ludington operations,” said Brendan O’Connor, Chief Operating Officer at Interlake Maritime Services. “He has done an excellent job leading the busy operations at Interlake Logistics for the last five years. We’re confident that his long-time association with the Badger will only enhance the passenger and crew experience aboard. We continue to invest in and remain fully committed to LMC as an important part of our maritime family of companies.”
Leonard began his shipping career in 1986 working for Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation, the Ludington-based company that purchased the three remaining Chessie System ferries — SS City of Midland 41, SS Badger, and SS Spartan — in 1983. He initially worked on the City of Midland, which transported rail cars, automobiles and passengers between Ludington and Kewaunee, Wis. In 1988, the City of Midland was laid up due to engine issues and was replaced by the Badger as M-WT’s primary ship. Leonard continued to work for the operation until it closed in 1990.
Leonard then began working for Lake Michigan Carferry when the service, owned by Charles Conrad, purchased the three boats from M-WT in 1992. In 1997, the City of Midland was converted to a barge and renamed the Pere Marquette 41. Lake Michigan Carferry then formed a separate company, Pere Marquette Shipping, to operate the barge with its tug, the Undaunted. Leonard then became general manager of that operation, still involved with dock duties at LMC, including being caretaker of the idle Spartan, which has been moored since 1979.
In 2020, Lake Michigan Carferry and Pere Marquette Shipping were purchased by Interlake Maritime Services of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, which also owns Interlake Steamship Co., a company of over 400 employees and operator of 11 Great Lakes freighters, among other maritime services. Pere Marquette Shipping’s name was changed to Interlake Logistics Solutions and continued to be based out of Ludington; Lake Michigan Carferry’s name remained the same.
Leonard replaces Sara Spore who had been serving as general manager since 2020.
Lake Michigan Carferry and Interlake Logistics Solutions are part of a Ludington maritime heritage which began 150 years ago, in 1875, when the Flint & Pere Marquette Railway began cross-lake freight service. The railroad had been completed in Ludington the previous year.
While rail service ended in 1990, the Badger continues to transport passengers, automobiles and commercial vehicles between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wis. The Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 transports a variety of freight throughout the Great Lakes.
Undaunted/PM 41 enters Grand Haven harbor recently.
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