The Saginaw Docked at Drummond Island

So I looked across the channel and saw that the Saginaw was docked at Drummond Island.  I'm not sure what kind of cargo she was picking up but it looked like some kind of stone.  At any rate, I believe this is the first appearance of the Saginaw on this blog.

The Saginaw started life as the John J. Boland and was constructed at the Manitiwoc Shipbuilding Company for the American Steamship Company in 1952.  She is the sister ship to the John J. Munson which is still sailing the Great Lakes and the Detroit Edison, which isn't.

She burns heavy fuel oil and is powered by a 7,000 horsepower diesel engine.  She is 639 feet long and can carry 20,200 tons of cargo.  She kept sailing until the 80's, when she was laid up for a while.  In the early 1990's, she was refitted by the American Steamship Company and she continued her old routes.

In 1999, she was sold to the Lower Lakes Company and renamed the Saginaw after the river.  I believe she was made a self unloader at this time.