The Capt. Henry Jackman

If it seems that there are alot of ships on this blog, there are. There are two reasons for this. One, I like ships. I've always like ships ever since I was growing up although my tastes gravitate towards Naval ships there is something about the lake freighters that fascinate me. Two, the Great Lakes are an integral part of what makes up Michigan and the lake freighters are an integral part of the commerce of the Great Lakes. One of the major series of battles during the War of 1812 were fought on Lake Erie.

Despite the invention of the train and trucks, ships still remain the most efficient way to carry large quantities of cargo. My next ship was the Captain Henry Jackson.

Here is the Capt. Henry Jackman as she heads north and the Algomarine as she heads south. The Ambassador Bridge is in the background.

The Captain Henry Jackman was launched in 1981 as the Lake Wabush and was built in Ontario. She was 730 feet long and could carry 30,000 tons of cargo. She was owned by Nipigon Transports which was jointly owned by the grain firm Cargill and Hanna Mining. This meant that she carried both grain and iron ore.

In 1986, she was acquired by her current owners, the Algoma Central Corp and was renamed the Captain Henry Jackman after a man who used to own and captain a bunch of schooners in the 1800's.

In 1996, she was converted to a self unloader.

Again, another microcosm of Great Lakes history.

I'm glad that I am seeing alot of these freighters because I think it bodes well for the future. These freighters are carrying iron ore and other raw materials which are used in the steel mills. This means that steel is being produced again which means that factories are gearing up orders.