 Michipicoten docked inMarquette, Michigan. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
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| Owner |
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| Operator |
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| Launched | March 7, 1952 |
| Maiden voyage | August 15, 1952 |
| Renamed | May 24, 2003 |
| Homeport |
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| Identification |
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| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 15,366 GT |
| Length | 208.18 m (683 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 11.28 m (37 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 6.7 m (22 ft 0 in)[2] |
| Depth | 21.34 m (70 ft 0 in) |
| Propulsion | MaK 6M32C 6-cylinder 8,160 BHPdiesel engine |
| Speed | 12 knots (14 mph) |
| Capacity | 23,491 tons |
| Notes | above current in 2024[3] |
Michipicoten (namedElton Hoyt 2nd when she entered service in 1952)[4][a] is aself-discharginglake freighter owned and operated by Canadian shipping firmLower Lakes Towing of Port Dover, Ontario.[5]Michipicoten primarily haulstaconite fromMarquette, Michigan, to the Algoma Steel Mill inSault Ste. Marie, Ontario.[6] She has a capacity of 22,300 tons,[7] a speed of 12knots (14 mph), and a length of 689 feet 6 inches (210.2 m).[8]
Michipicoten was built in 1952 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. inSparrows Point, Maryland.[9] She was one of three vessels built to similar plans for theInterlake Steamship Company. It waslaunched asElton Hoyt 2nd. The other two vessels,Johnstown andSparrows Point, were also built by theBethlehem Steel Corporation.
All three ships were brought to theGreat Lakes via theMississippi andIllinois rivers,[10] restricting their size. Specifically,Elton Hoyt 2nd measured 626 feet 6 inches (191.0 m) long, with a capacity of around 20,000 tons. She was powered by a 7,700shaft horsepower (5,700 kW) Bethlehem Steel cross compoundsteam turbine and two oil-firedFoster-Wheeler water tube boilers. AsElton Hoyt 2nd was brought through the rivers, her cabins andpilothouse were carried on-deck, assembled inChicago, and entered service on August 15, 1952.[8]
Over the course of the next nearly two decades,Elton Hoyt 2nd entered a pattern of shippingiron ore fromDuluth, Minnesota, orSuperior, Wisconsin, to a number of ports in the lower Great Lakes.
Throughout the 1950s,Elton Hoyt 2nd had an incident-free career. In 1957, she was lengthened by 72 feet (22 m), increasing her total length to 698 feet 6 inches (212.90 m). The lengthening also increased her capacity to around 23,000 tons. In 1966, theElton Hoyt 2nd was sold to Pickands Mather and Co. She remained in their fleet until 1973.[11]
Twenty-three years later, in 1980,Elton Hoyt 2nd was again upgraded, this time in a conversion to aself-unloading vessel. She was converted at theToledo, Ohio-basedAmerican Ship Building Company. In 1985,Johnstown, which had not been converted to a self unloader, was sold forscrap. The third ship,Sparrows Point, was converted in 1980 and sailed asBuckeye until 2008, when that ship sustained severe damage to her engines and shortly after was converted again by the Rand Logistics/Lower Lakes Towing company into the bargeMenominee, leavingMichipicoten the last fully functional member of her class.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, theElton Hoyt 2nd saw varied use. For some seasons, she did not sail. In the 1990s, the vessel was certified to carrygrain,[8][6] and made several trips toBuffalo, New York, in addition to her regular loads of taconite.
On April 10, 2003, it was announced thatElton Hoyt 2nd was sold to Lower Lakes Towing, a Canadian shipping company. She was renamedMichipicoten after the Canadian river ofthe same name. The nameMichipicoten means "Big bluffs" in theOjibwe language and refers to the hills near the river.[12] She was christened on May 24, 2003, inSarnia, Ontario. The ship began supplying taconite to the Algoma Steel Mill inSault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
In December 2010,Michipicoten was laid up in Sarnia. Over the course of several months, her steam turbine system was replaced with a MaK 6M32C 6-cylinder 8,160brake horsepower (6,080 kW)diesel engine and a new pitch propeller. The cost of the upgrade was aroundUS$15 million.[8]
On June 8, 2024, the ship suffered hull damage while traveling nearIsle Royale inLake Superior. The ship's crew reported hearing a loud bang while the vessel was in deep water. The ship began taking on water, and at one point reached a 15 degreelist. The crew was able to issue a distress call and start pumps that alleviated the list to 5 degrees. The distress call was met by theMV Edwin H. Gott, which waited withMichipicoten until the arrival of theU.S. Coast Guard.Michipicoten sailed forThunder Bay, Ontario, under her own power with escorts from the U.S. andCanadian Coast Guard. At the time it was thought the vessel had struck an underwater object; however, there has been no evidence found to suggest a collision.
While in port, divers inspected the hull and determined the likely cause may have been fatigue. Divers discovered a nearly four-meter (13 ft) crack in the hull. A member of the Coast Guard stated "It looks like a hull failure, which could be the result of stress, fatigue, age of the vessel," he said, but cautioned that a full investigation is needed to determine the cause for certain. The exact cause of the damage remains unknown. The divers placed a temporary patch to the crack.
On June 20, 2024,Michipicoten arrived at Superior from Thunder Bay under her own power, escorted by thetugboatHelen H, bound forFraser Shipyards for inspection and repair.[13] As of August 2025[update]Transport Canada had not approved for her to return to service after repairs.[14]
