Lake freighters, also called lakers, are ships that carry large amounts of goods on the Great Lakes in North America. These ships are often called boats, even though they are technically ships. Freighters usually have a long, narrow body, a raised area where the captain controls the ship, and the engine at the back of the ship.

Lakers have been used since the late 1800s to move raw materials from docks in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway areas to industrial cities in Ontario, Quebec, and the American Midwest. The time when ships can sail on the lakes is usually from late March until mid-January because ice forms on the lakes during colder months.

The largest lake freighters can travel up to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and can carry as much as 78,850 long tons (80,120 t) of bulk cargo.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in 1975, became well known as the largest ship to be wrecked on the Great Lakes.

History

The lake freighter's design became well-known after many years of improvements in shipping on the Great Lakes. By the late 1860s, most large amounts of goods were still moved by unpowered barges and sailing ships. These ships often had open deck hatches, which made it easier to load and unload cargo. Around this time, passenger steamboats became popular because they used steam power, making travel faster and more dependable.

In 1869, the wooden-hulled ship R. J. Hackett was launched. It was built specifically to carry iron ore and had a new design that would later become the standard for bulk carriers on the Great Lakes. The ship had a raised area for the captain at the front, built on top of cabins, and a boxy hull to hold more cargo. Between the raised front section and the engine at the back was a long, flat deck with hatches spaced 24 feet (7.3 meters) apart. This spacing matched the chutes on a gravity ore dock in Marquette, Michigan.

The falls of the St. Marys River forced ships to move their cargo 1.25 miles (2.01 kilometers) around the falls. To improve shipping efficiency and profit, Michigan leaders asked the federal government for money to build a canal. In 1855, the Michigan State Locks (now called the Soo Locks) opened, allowing ships to meet the growing demand for iron ore from the east. This helped develop bulk carriers on the Great Lakes.

Early lake freighters often had wooden hulls or a mix of wood and iron. As high-quality timber near the lakeshore ran out, shipbuilders began using metal hulls more often. In 1881 and 1882, the first fully iron-hulled freighters, Brunswick and Onoko, were launched. Around this time, steel became a common material for hulls because a process called the Bessemer process made it cheaper. The first steel-hulled freighter, Spokane, was launched in 1886. Soon after, iron and mixed hulls were no longer used. Wood remained for smaller ships until the early 1900s.

An early type of lake freighter was the whaleback, designed by Alexander McDougall. These ships had long, narrow bodies that barely rose above the water when fully loaded and carried bulk cargo on the lakes from 1888 to 1970.

Early lake freighters needed cargo to be unloaded by hand or with help from machines at the docks. In 1902, the ship Hennepin was the first to be modified with self-unloading equipment, which allowed its cargo to be unloaded much faster.

Around 1916, ships about 600 feet (180 meters) long became the standard size.

After World War II, some ocean freighters and tankers were moved to the Great Lakes and changed into bulk carriers to get ships at a lower cost. For example, the oil tanker Chiwawa became the bulk freighter MV Lee A. Tregurtha. Also, the freighter Outer Island was first used as LCT-203, a tank landing craft during World War II.

In the mid-20th century, about 300 lake freighters operated on the lakes, but by the early 21st century, fewer than 140 were active. By the 1990s, older and smaller self-unloaders and straight-deck freighters were converted into tug-barges.

Types of lake freighters

Lake freighters that travel on the Great Lakes can be told apart by how they are used. They are grouped based on where they operate, their design, size, or other features. Some freighters may fit into more than one group. These types include:

• Laker – a ship that carries large amounts of goods and mainly works in the upper Great Lakes.
• Longboats – lakers known for their long, narrow shape.
• Oreboat/Ironboat – a ship that mainly transports iron ore and taconite pellets.
• Saltie – a large ship that travels on the ocean and can reach the Great Lakes through the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
• Self-unloader – a lake freighter with special equipment to unload cargo by itself.
• Stern-ender – a lake freighter where all the passenger areas are located at the back of the ship.
• Straight decker (bulker) – a freighter that does not have conveyors or cranes to unload cargo and instead uses port facilities.
• Tug-barge – a bulk carrier made by attaching barges (former self-unloaders and straight-deckers) to a tugboat.

Some newer types of lake freighters include:

• Equinox class – a new type of freighter, with several ships starting service in the 2010s for Seaway Marine Transport, a part of Algoma Central. A class of ship is created when a new design is used, and it becomes special when many ships are built with the same design. These ships carry dry goods (two without unloading gear and three with self-unloading equipment). The first ship, Algoma Equinox, began service in 2013.
• Trillium class – a new type of freighter delivered for Canada Steamship Lines in 2012 (Baie St. Paul) and 2013 (Whitefish Bay, Thunder Bay, and Baie Comeau). Two more ships (CSL Welland and CSL St. Laurent) started service on the Great Lakes in 2015.
• River class – a new type of freighter, with one ship, Mark W. Barker, commissioned by Interlake Steamship Company and entering service on July 1, 2022.

Cargo

In 2023, about 81.4 million tons of cargo were moved across the Great Lakes. The most common types of cargo include taconite, limestone, grain, salt, coal, cement, gypsum, and sand. These goods are stored in large open spaces inside the ships, not in containers.

Iron ore transported from the upper Great Lakes mainly goes to steel mills in the Midwest. Iron ore makes up most of the cargo moved each year.

During the 1940s, the use of taconite pellets increased because higher quality iron ore became less available.

Other destinations for cargo include coal-fired power plants, salt storage areas for road maintenance, and stone docks where limestone is used for construction. Most of the cargo is carried by ships flying the U.S. flag, which move about two-thirds of all goods by weight. U.S. ships carry most of the iron, limestone, and cement, while Canadian ships transport most of the potash and nearly all the salt and grain.

Where cargo is sent, the size of the ships, and legal rules greatly influence how goods are moved. Large U.S. ships carry most of the iron ore (79%) from U.S. mines to U.S. mills. This follows the Jones Act and reflects the need for large amounts of material to be moved to a few large ports. Salt and Canadian grain can be sent to many smaller ports in either country using smaller ships, mostly Canadian ones, which can also travel through the St. Lawrence Seaway to reach Montreal and Quebec City.

Because salt ships have a deeper draft and freshwater supports less weight, they often carry less than their full capacity. However, the St. Lawrence Seaway allows smaller ships to reach the Atlantic Ocean. Larger, newer ships are limited to the upper lakes due to their size.

Design

Lake freighters have a design that is different from ships that travel on the ocean. In 1869, R. J. Hackett designed lake freighters to have the bridge and main structure at the front of the ship. Another feature was a second raised area over the engine room at the back of the ship. In 1974, the ship Algosoo was the last one built with this design.

More recently built lake freighters, like the CSL Niagara, have one large raised structure at the back of the ship.

Lake vessels are built with the highest possible block coefficient to fit as large as possible inside the locks of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system. Because of this, ship designers prefer blunt-shaped fronts instead of smooth, rounded fronts.

Another difference between lake and ocean ships is how cargo hatches are arranged. On lake ships, hatches are usually spaced 24 feet (7.3 meters) apart. This design matches the chutes at loading facilities.

Great Lakes waves are shorter and less powerful than ocean waves. Because of this, lake ships are less likely to be caught between waves and damaged. This allows lake ships to have a larger ratio of length to width compared to ocean ships. Lake vessels typically have a 10:1 length-to-width ratio, while ocean ships usually have a 7:1 ratio.

The size of a lake freighter determines where it can operate. The shallow water of the St. Marys River and Lake St. Clair limits the amount of cargo a ship can carry. The Poe Lock at the Soo Locks is the largest deep lock, measuring 1,200 feet (370 meters) long and 110 feet (34 meters) wide.

Many larger American ships cannot pass through the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which limits their size to 740 feet (230 meters) in length and 78 feet (24 meters) in width. Ships that meet these size limits, called Seawaymax vessels, can travel between the Great Lakes and the ocean. Canadian ships must travel along the St. Lawrence Seaway to reach major cities, so the largest Canadian ships are limited to 740 feet (230 meters) in length.

Lake ships that are 600 to 700 feet (180 to 210 meters) long are more common because of the size limits of the Welland Canal. These ships vary in design and cargo capacity, carrying between 10,000 and 40,000 tons per trip. Smaller ships serve smaller ports with less frequent needs.

A reason for the limited size of Canadian ships is a law called the Jones Act of 1920. This law requires that only American ships can transport ore mined in the United States to American mills. Because of this, larger Canadian ships are not needed.

The largest ships on the lakes were built between 1976 and 1981. Thirteen of these ships remain in use today. They are all American-flagged vessels, measuring between 1,000 and 1,013.5 feet (304.8 and 308.9 meters) in length, 105 feet (32 meters) in width, and 56 feet (17 meters) in hull depth.

Lifespan

Modern lakers are usually built to last about 45 to 50 years, which is longer than the average lifespan of ocean-going bulk carriers. As of 2023, ocean-going bulk freighters typically last about 11 years, partly because saltwater causes damage over time.

Some lakers have had very long careers. The SS St. Marys Challenger was launched in 1906 and operated independently until 2013. It is still in use today as a barge, now 118 years old. Another example is the E. M. Ford, which was built in 1898 and was taken apart for materials in November 2008.

Some shipping companies are building new freighters to travel on the Great Lakes. The following are new freighters currently in use or planned for use on the Great Lakes:

• Algoma Mariner – built by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China, and delivered in August 2011 for Algoma Central Corporation.

Ship losses and incidents

The Great Lakes have many shipwrecks, groundings, storms, and collisions in their history. From the 1679 sinking of Le Griffon with its fur cargo to the 1975 loss of Edmund Fitzgerald, thousands of ships and lives have been lost, often involving cargo ships. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum estimates about 6,000 ships and 30,000 lives lost. David D. Swayze created a list with over 4,750 well-documented shipwrecks, mostly commercial vessels, and names of over 5,000 victims. Maritime historian Mark Thompson reports that nearly 6,000 shipwrecks occurred on the Great Lakes between 1878 and 1994, with about a quarter of those being total losses, resulting in 1,166 lives lost.

Recent modern shipwrecks include:
• SS Edmund Fitzgerald, November 10, 1975, Lake Superior, all 29 crew members died (cause unknown during a storm)
• SS Daniel J. Morrell, November 29, 1966, Lake Huron, 28 of 29 crew members died (split in half during a storm)
• SS Cedarville, May 7, 1965, Straits of Mackinac, 10 of 35 crew members died (collided with the saltie Topdalsfjord)
• SS Carl D. Bradley, November 18, 1958, Lake Michigan, 33 of 35 crew members died (split in half during a storm)
• SS Scotiadoc, June 20, 1953, Lake Superior, 1 of 29 crew members died (rammed by freighter Burlington in heavy fog)
• SS Henry Steinbrenner, May 11, 1953, Lake Superior, 17 of 31 crew members died (flooded after cargo hatch covers were lost during a storm)
• SS Emperor, June 4, 1947, Lake Superior, 12 of 33 crew members died (ran into rocks at Isle Royale)
• SS Superior City, August 20, 1920, Lake Superior, 29 of 33 crew members died (collided with freighter Willis L. King)

Salties Prins Willem V and Monrovia sank in the Great Lakes during the 1950s due to collisions with other ships. Saltie Francisco Morazan was a total loss after running aground near South Manitou Island on November 29, 1960. Saltie Nordmeer grounded on Thunder Bay Island Shoal in November 1966 but was further damaged in the same storm that sank the Morrell and declared a total loss.

Ships on the lakes have had many smaller incidents. Lakers often run aground in ports and channels due to changing lake levels and sediment build-up, collisions with objects (such as the 1993 collision of the Indiana Harbor with the Lansing Shoals Light Station), winter ice, and fires (including the 2001 fire caused by a drawbridge hitting the Canadian grain carrier Windoc). To prevent accidents, the Great Lakes have lighthouses, lights, and floating navigation aids. The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard operate stations around the lakes, including icebreakers and rescue helicopters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies maintain harbors and seaways by dredging and building seawalls to reduce groundings.

November was traditionally the last month for shipping before winter, when lakes freeze. Harsh weather in November caused many accidents. One study shows that over half of all strandings and one-third of all vessels lost to foundering between 1900 and 1950 happened in November.

Famous vessels

The most famous lake freighter was the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank during a storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. A song called "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," written by Gordon Lightfoot, helped people learn about this event. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when it was launched in 1958, measuring 729 feet (222 meters) long. The ship was also known for its "DJ Captain," Peter Pulcer, who often played music to entertain people watching the ship.

The SS Arthur M. Anderson, launched in 1952, was the last ship to communicate with the Edmund Fitzgerald before it sank. It was also the first ship to arrive at the scene to search for the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The MV Paul R. Tregurtha holds the title "Queen of the Lakes" as the largest ship on the Great Lakes since it was launched in 1981. This modern ship, originally named MV William J. Delancy, is 1013.5 feet (308.9 meters) long.

The Onoko was the second iron-hulled ship on the Great Lakes, launched in 1882. It was 302 feet long and became the first bulk carrier to hold the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes." This title has been passed to other record-breaking ships over time. The SS Carl D. Bradley held the title for 22 years, the longest time of any classic-style ship. The Ford Motor Company’s Henry Ford II and Benson Ford, launched in 1924, were the first lakeboats to use diesel engines. The Canadian grainboat Feux-Follets, launched in 1967, was the last ship on the Great Lakes built with a steam turbine.

Wilfred Sykes, launched in 1949 and 678 feet (207 meters) long, was the first modern laker. When it was converted to a self-unloader in 1975, it was the first ship to have its unloading equipment placed at the back of the ship. Since then, all self-unloading equipment has been placed at the back. Algoisle (formerly Silver Isle), launched in 1962 and 715.9 feet (218.2 meters) long, was the first modern laker built with all cabins located at the back, following a design used by ocean-going ships and older river barges. Algosoo, launched in 1974 and 730 feet (220 meters) long, was the last ship built in the classic style.

The steamer Edward L. Ryerson is known for its artistic design and is the only remaining straight-decker still in active service on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes. In mid-2006, the ship was restored and put back into service after being out of use since 1998. However, it has been out of service again since 2009.

Museum ships and surviving hulls

The William G. Mather was built in 1925 and was the main ship of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company until 1980. In 1987, the ship was given to the Great Lakes Historical Society to be repaired and kept safe. In 2005, the ship was moved to its current location at Cleveland's North Coast Harbor. In 2006, the Great Lakes Science Center took ownership of the ship to use it as a museum ship. Visitors can tour the ship during certain times of the year.

The William A. Irvin was the main ship of U.S. Steel's Great Lakes fleet from 1938 to 1975. The ship was retired in 1978 and bought by the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center in 1986. It is now open for visitors to tour.

The SS Meteor is the last remaining whaleback ship. It is displayed as a museum less than a mile from where it was launched in Superior, Wisconsin. The ship is permanently kept on land near the water on Barker's Island.

Valley Camp was launched in 1917 as the Louis W. Hill and carried cargo until it stopped working in 1966. In 1968, the ship arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, for the town's 300th anniversary celebration to be used as a museum ship. The museum ship shows many items from the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, including two of the ship's damaged lifeboats.

The SS St. Mary's Challenger, a 120-year-old ship, has its pilothouse displayed at the National Museum of the Great Lakes.

The SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker (originally named Willis B. Boyer) floats in the Maumee River as a museum ship for the National Museum of the Great Lakes. When it was launched in 1911, it was the largest bulk freighter in the world. The ship was later used as a floating museum after being bought by the City of Toledo, Ohio, in 1987.

The bow and bow superstructure of the Lewis G. Harriman are preserved as a home in DeTour, Michigan. The ship was first named the SS John W. Boardman in 1923. In 1965, the ship was renamed Lewis G. Harriman and used to store cement during the Poe Lock construction in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The ship was sold for scrap in 2003, but the pilothouse and hull were saved and now used as a home along the lakeshore.

The SS John Sherwin has not been sailed since 1981. It is currently docked at the Interlake Steamship Dock in DeTour, Michigan, after its conversion to a self-unloader and repowering was stopped in November 2008.

The pilothouse of the SS William Clay Ford is part of the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle. The pilothouse is open for tours and offers views of the Detroit River.

The SS Ridgetown was partially sunk to act as a breakwater near Toronto at Port Credit. It was built in 1905 and is one of the oldest surviving hulls on the lake. Its shape shows how early 1900s lake freighters looked.

The MV Benson Ford was the main ship of the Ford Motor Company fleet when it was launched in 1924. The forward cabin and pilothouse were moved in 1986 to a cliff on South Bass Island, near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, in Lake Erie. It has been a private home since 1999 and offers tours on certain dates.

Several other ships almost became museums but were scrapped due to lack of funding, political issues, and other reasons.

• SS Niagara: A freighter built in 1897, later converted to a sand-sucker. It was scrapped in 1997 in Pennsylvania after failing to become a museum. It had been saved from the scrapyard 11 years earlier.
• John Ericsson: The second-to-last whaleback freighter. It was scrapped in 1969 in Hamilton, Ontario. Political issues, like with the Canadiana, were a major reason for its loss.
• SS Seaway Queen: A Canadian straight decker, once owned by Upper Lakes Shipping, and used in the movie version of David Mamet's play Lakeboat. Efforts to save it as a museum failed, and it was scrapped in India in 2004.
• J. B. Ford: A 1904 freighter that survived major storms in 1905 and 1913. The ship's last three-cycle reciprocating steam engine was too costly to preserve, so it was scrapped in 2015 in Duluth.