LAKER ROYALTY

BY KAY DRAGAN

Every year, thousands of ships sail the freshwater of the Inland Seas. These vessels range from simple kayaks to complex self-unloading tankers. The 13 behemoths that rule these waves are at least 105 feet wide, with lengths ranging from 1,000 to 1,013 feet. Called "thousand-footers," these large freight vessels are marvels of maritime technology. They make up some of the longest ships in the world. Between 1977 and 1980, several were made right here in Sturgeon Bay. Out of the 13, eight have held the unofficial title “Queen of the Lakes”, a title reserved for only the longest ships. The eldest of these 1,000-foot self-unloading tankers, the Stewart J. Cort, held the title for four years. When the Cort was finished in 1972, it surpassed the longest ship by almost 300 feet. Within a year, however, the Cort had to share the title of Queen with the Presque Isle, an integrated tug-barge also boasting a length of 1,000 feet. Their reign ended in 1976, with the launch of the James R. Barker, a self-unloader with a length of 1,004 feet. From 1976 to 1980, four more vessels joined the Barker to share the matriarch title: Mesabi Miner, American Spirit, Edwin H. Gott, and Edgar B. Speer, all measuring a length of 1,004 feet. Today, the title is held by the MV Paul R. Tregurtha, with a length measuring 1,013 feet, 6 inches. The Tregurtha is the longest reigning “Queen of the Lakes,” holding the title for 42 years and counting since its launch in 1981. Its reign surpassed the previous record holder, a 22-year-long career from the Carl D. Bradley, which was launched in 1927 and tragically met its end in a storm in 1949. Nine years later, the Bradley would be joined at the bottom by another Queen - the often-sung-about Edmund Fitzgerald . While the other 1,000-footers are not on the roster of Queens, they still deserve their place among the Great Lakes royalty. The “Kingmaker” is none other than our own Bay Shipbuilding, located on the waterfront of Sturgeon Bay. Of the 13 Great Lakes goliaths, six were built on the East waterfront of the City. Formed in 1968 by the combination of Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company and the Christy Corporation, Bay Shipbuilding is just one of the shipbuilding companies to make Sturgeon Bay their home during the City’s more than 150 years of recorded shipbuilding history. Bay Ship built a wide variety of vessels, from Navy minesweepers to car ferries for Washington Island. Most noteworthy on Bay Ship’s lengthy and impressive resume are six entries: all of the 1,000-foot vessels produced in Door County are still at work on the Great Lakes. (In 2008, the Italian company Fincantieri purchased Bay Shipbuilding Company.)

The first 1,000-foot vessel constructed at Bay Ship was the M/V Belle River , launched in July 1977, and re-christened the Walter J. McCarthy in 1990. As the Corporation’s first, the shipyard had some significant issues launching the Belle River . When launched, the vessel drafted too deep for the dock. The Belle River scraped the bottom of its slip and returned to dry-dock for weeks of repairs. It officially joined the rest of the American Steamship Company fleet as a working vessel in August 1977. A new 1,000-foot ship launched each year for the next five years.

The Lewis Wilson Foy , better known as the M/V American Integrity was stalwart from the beginning, launching in August 1978 with none of the problems of the previous ship. (The “American” named ships would become the least accident-prone of their cohort.)

Each of the next three vessels had some sort of incident within months of its launch. When the Edwin H. Gott launched in January 1979, thick ice still on the Bay caused damage to the rudders and sidewalls. Back to the dry-dock the Gott went. When the vessel was fixed and readied for an April launch, an anchor and more than 300 feet of the chain were found missing, delaying the launch again. In the same year, Bay Ship launched another 1,000-footer, the M/V Indiana Harbor , which ran over its anchor two months after launch, punching a hole in its hull and forcing a return to the repair dock.

The Burns Harbor had problems while under construction. A fire broke out and damaged the ship’s conveyor belt in early 1980. It still managed to make its maiden voyage in September of that year. The last 1,000-footer of this series built at Bay Ship, the Columbia Star , renamed American Century in 2006, entered service without issue in 1981.

Each of these vessels has changed ownership multiple times over the years between shipping companies; today five of them sail together under the banner of the American Steamship Company. Only the Edwin H. Gott is part of a different fleet, belonging to the Great Lakes Fleet Inc. In addition to once being known as a “Queen of the Lakes,” the Gott also boasts the longest self-unloading boom of any Great Lakes vessel, with a length of 280 feet.

The launch of the M/V American Century marked the end of the freighter building boom in Sturgeon Bay. Shipping companies shifted their focus to utility vessels and repairs to the fleets they already had sailing. More than 40 years passed before a new freighter met the waters of the Great Lakes. The kingmakers at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding launched the M/V Mark W. Barker in July 2022, a squire of a vessel measuring 639 feet in length. Although not making the roster of 1,000-footer Queens, the Barker is younger, faster, and with newer technology. In our eyes, it can be classified as the newest member of royalty on the Great Lakes.