Interlake Steamship Company

The Interlake Steamship Company is an American freight ship company that operates a fleet on the Great Lakes in North America.[1][2][3]

History

The firm was founded in 1913 when a consortium of firms bought out the seventeen vessels of the Gilchrist Company, which had gone into receivership.[4] The other firms were: the Lackawanna Steamship Company; the Acme Steamship Company; the Standard Steamship Company; the Provident Steamship Company and the Huron Barge Company. The combined fleet operated 56 vessels.

According to Mark L. Thompson's 1994 Queen of the Lakes, when Interlake launched its largest vessel, the William J. Delancey, its fleet contained 151 vessels, and was capable of carrying over three million tons of cargo at one time.[5]

About April 2018, Interlake established a subsidiary service known as Interlake Logistics Solutions. Although its existing freight services were focused on bulk raw materials, the new service offered shipping on finished goods. The Barker and Tregurtha families, owners of Interlake Steamship, chartered the 418-foot (127 m), 14,000 short tons (13,000 t) barge Montville from Moran Towing (also owned by the Barker and Tregurtha families) to provide this new service on an as-needed basis.[6]

In April 2019, Interlake Steamship announced construction of a 639-foot (195 m) long, 75-foot (23 m) wide River-class self-unloading bulk freighter. The vessel, to be built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, will be the first ship built for the U.S.-flagged Great Lakes fleet since 1983, and the first built by Interlake since 1981.[7] Named Mark W. Barker, the ship is expected to be delivered in mid-2022.[8]

In December, 2020, the SS Badger was acquired by Interlake Steamship Company.[9] The deal also "includes acquisition of the Articulated Tug-Barge Undaunted-Pere Marquette 41 and the SS Spartan, a sister ship to the Badger that's currently not in operation."[9][10] It was a part of a larger sale of assets. The “Middleburg Heights, Ohio-based Interlake Holding Co. acquired the assets of Ludington-based Lake Michigan Car Ferry Co., the owner and operator of the S.S. Badger, according to a statement. The deal also included the assets of Ludington-based Pere Marquette Shipping Co., which included the “workhorse” articulated tug-barge Undaunted-Pere Marquette 41.”[11]

Fleet
Interlake fleet
imagenamelaunch
date		retirednotes
Frank Armstrong19431987[12]
  • The 4th ship originally built for the U.S. Maritime Commission.[13][14]
Lee A. Tregurtha1942
Kaye E. Barker1952
Herbert C. Jackson1959
The Hon. James L. Oberstar1958
Stewart J. Cort1972
James R. Barker1976
  • Third 1000 foot vessel on the upper lakes.[15]
Mesabi Miner1977
  • Fourth 1000 foot vessel on the upper lakes.[16]
Paul R. Tregurtha1981
Badger1952
  • Acquired from Lake Michigan Carferry Company in 2020.[9]
Spartan1952
  • Acquired from Lake Michigan Carferry Company in 2020.[9]
Pere Marquette 411940
  • Acquired from Pere Marquette Shipping Company in 2020.[9]
Undaunted1944
  • Acquired from Pere Marquette Shipping Company in 2020.[9]

References
  1. "Great Lakes Book Shelf". Boatnerd. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  2. Alex Roland; W. Jeffrey Bolster; Alexander Keyssar (2008). The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisoned, 1600-2000. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 367–370. ISBN 9780470136003. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. Raymond A. Bawal (2011). Superships of the Great Lakes: Thousand-foot Ships on the Great Lakes. Inland Expressions. pp. 27–32, 35, 42–46, 70. ISBN 9780981815749. Retrieved 2016-03-14. The MESABI MINER has a carrying capacity identical to that of the JAMES R. BARKER at 63,300 tons. Upon entering service, these two ships provided the Interlake Steamship Company with a dramatic increase in that firm's total trip capacity.
  4. "BIG GREAT LAKES MERGER". New York Times. 1913-04-26. p. 13. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  5. Mark L. Thompson (1994). Queen of the Lakes. Wayne State University Press. pp. 200, 201–204. ISBN 9780814323939. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  6. McCafferty, Rachel Abbey (April 30, 2018). "Interlake Steamship adds new barge to fleet". Crain's Cleveland Business. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  7. Schuyler, David (April 9, 2019). "Freighter to be built in Wisconsin shipyard will be first new U.S. flagged bulk carrier in 35 years". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  8. "GREAT LAKES OPERATOR INVESTS LOCALLY". The Motorship. June 26, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  9. Ferretti, Christine (December 31, 2020). "Iconic Great Lakes car ferry SS Badger sold". The Detroit News.
  10. Prinsen, Jake (December 31, 2020). "S.S. Badger car ferry has new owner as part of Lake Michigan Car Ferry Co. sale to Interlake Holding Co". Manitowoc Herald Times.
  11. MIBIZ STAFF (December 30, 2020). "S.S. Badger — iconic cross-lake car ferry in Ludington — sold to Ohio firm". MBIZ.
  12. Berry, Sterling (2011). "Armstrong, Frank". greatlakesvesselhistory.com. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  13. Wharton, George (2011). "C.T.C. No. 1". boatnerd.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  14. Haydamacker, Nelson "Mickey"; Millar, Alan D. (24 February 2009). Deckhand. University of Michigan Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-472-03325-6.
  15. "Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature -- James R. Barker". Boatnerd. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  16. George Wharton. "Mesabi Miner". Boatnerd. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
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