23JA3015HDRZW-SharpenAI-Softness
The "Michipicoten" loading at Superior Elevator at the Mission.
Michipicoten was built in 1952 by Massachusetts Heavy Industries in Quincy, Massachusetts.[7] It was one of three vessels built to similar plans for the Interlake Steamship Company. It was launched as Elton Hoyt II. The other two vessels, Johnstown and Sparrows Point, were built for the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
All three ships were brought to the Great Lakes via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers,[8] restricting their size. Specifically, Elton Hoyt II measured 626 feet 6 inches (191.0 m) long, with a capacity of around 20,000 tons. It was powered by a 7,700 shaft horsepower (5,700 kW) Bethlehem Steel cross compound steam turbine and two oil-fired Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers. As Elton Hoyt II was brought through the rivers, its cabins and pilothouse were cut off and carried on-deck. It was assembled in Chicago, and entered service on August 15, 1952.
23 years later, in 1980, Elton Hoyt II was again upgraded, this time in a conversion to a self-unloading vessel. It was converted at the Toledo-based American Ship Building Co.
On April 10, 2003, it was announced that Elton Hoyt II was sold to Lower Lakes Towing, a Canadian shipping company. It was renamed Michipicoten after the Canadian river of the same name. The name Michipicoten means "Big bluffs" in the Ojibwe language and refers to the hills near the river.[10] It was christened on May 24, 2003 in Sarnia, Ontario. The ship began supplying taconite to the Algoma Steel Mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
In December 2010, Michipicoten was laid up in Sarnia. Over the course of several months, its steam turbine system was replaced with a MaK 6M32C 6-cylinder 8,160 brake horsepower (6,080 kW) diesel engine and a new pitch propeller. The cost of the upgrade was around US$15 million.
23JA3015HDRZW-SharpenAI-Softness
The "Michipicoten" loading at Superior Elevator at the Mission.
Michipicoten was built in 1952 by Massachusetts Heavy Industries in Quincy, Massachusetts.[7] It was one of three vessels built to similar plans for the Interlake Steamship Company. It was launched as Elton Hoyt II. The other two vessels, Johnstown and Sparrows Point, were built for the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
All three ships were brought to the Great Lakes via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers,[8] restricting their size. Specifically, Elton Hoyt II measured 626 feet 6 inches (191.0 m) long, with a capacity of around 20,000 tons. It was powered by a 7,700 shaft horsepower (5,700 kW) Bethlehem Steel cross compound steam turbine and two oil-fired Foster-Wheeler water tube boilers. As Elton Hoyt II was brought through the rivers, its cabins and pilothouse were cut off and carried on-deck. It was assembled in Chicago, and entered service on August 15, 1952.
23 years later, in 1980, Elton Hoyt II was again upgraded, this time in a conversion to a self-unloading vessel. It was converted at the Toledo-based American Ship Building Co.
On April 10, 2003, it was announced that Elton Hoyt II was sold to Lower Lakes Towing, a Canadian shipping company. It was renamed Michipicoten after the Canadian river of the same name. The name Michipicoten means "Big bluffs" in the Ojibwe language and refers to the hills near the river.[10] It was christened on May 24, 2003 in Sarnia, Ontario. The ship began supplying taconite to the Algoma Steel Mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
In December 2010, Michipicoten was laid up in Sarnia. Over the course of several months, its steam turbine system was replaced with a MaK 6M32C 6-cylinder 8,160 brake horsepower (6,080 kW) diesel engine and a new pitch propeller. The cost of the upgrade was around US$15 million.