The Kaministiqua

Next up is a ship that is making her debut on Michigan Exposures.  I've been interested in ships for a long time but it is only within the past three years that I have tried in earnest to get pictures of them.  I would love to sit back one day and be able to look at one of my own pictures of every ship that regularly travels the Great Lakes.  Living close to Detroit gives me an opportunity to do almost that but there are some ships that never pass Detroit but most of them do.

It seems like there are some ships that regularly pass the Detroit River.  It also seems like there are some ships that pass at times when I can't get down to take their picture.  I am not sure which category this ship falls into but I was happy to get her picture.

 One of the things I've learned about many of the ships on the Great Lakes is that they pass through many owners and many different phases of their life.  This ship is no exception.  She has worn many different outfits in her life which is interesting considered that she hasn't been on the Lakes nearly as long as some other ships.

For this series, I started out at Riverside Park.

 She started life in 1983 at the Govan Shipyards in Glasgow Scotland.  She was going to be a salty-laker for Pioneer Shipping.  She started life as the Saskatchewan Pioneer and would be used for grain/ore trade during the shipping season on the Great Lakes and other cargos on the oceans during other months.

But I got a little paranoid about parking my car there, so I moved to another off Jefferson.  This spot looked a little rougher, so I figured I would take the picture of this ship and move on.

 Her delivery date marked the 100th Anniversary of overseas grain shipments via the Great Lakes.

 She and her sisters are unique amongst the salty lakers in that they don't have self-unloading equipment.

 She is powered by a single 10,880 horsepower diesel engine which gives her a speed of almost 14 mph.  She is also equipped with a bow thruster.

 She 730 feet long which permits her to go through the Welland Canal and judging by these pictures almost 700 feet of it is rust.

 In 1991, she was sold to Fednav.   In 1992, she made a trip to Cuba where she picked up sugar for Toronto and Montreal.

 In 1994, she was sold to Canadian Steamship Lines and was renamed Lady Hamilton in 1996 but she still sailed under charter to Fednav.

 In 2006, she was acquired by Voyageur Marine and renamed to Voyageur Pioneer.

 In 2007, she was acquired by Lower Lakes Towing along with one of her sisters.  She continues with the grain trade.

 She was given the Lower Lakes Colors in 2008.

 Given the retirement of other straight deckers, I wonder how much longer she will stay in service.  If you look at the railing in this shot, you can see where people tie their fishing poles.

 It's funny, I see beat up ships all the time but I don't think I've ever seen any this bad.

Although I think it looks kind of neat.  In fact, the way it comes down, it almost looks deliberate.

A shot of her stern.

One parting shot as she heads to Quebec.