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SS Edward L. Ryerson

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Edward L. Ryerson in Lorain (cropped).jpg
Edward L. Ryerson in 2007
History
United States
Name
  • Edward L. Ryerson (1960 –1998)
  • Str. Edward L. Ryerson (1998 –present)
NamesakeEdward Larned Ryerson
OwnerCentral Marine Logistics of Griffith, Indiana[2]
Port of registryIndiana Harbor, Indiana, United States[1]
BuilderManitowoc Shipbuilding Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Yard number425
Laid downApril 20, 1959
LaunchedJanuary 21, 1960
Maiden voyageAugust 4, 1960
In serviceJune 20, 1960
Out of service2009
Identification
Nickname(s)Fast Eddie
StatusLaid up in Superior, Wisconsin.[3] Located at 46°44′18″N 92°06′14″W / 46.73822°N 92.10375°W / 46.73822; -92.10375Coordinates: 46°44′18″N 92°06′14″W / 46.73822°N 92.10375°W / 46.73822; -92.10375
General characteristics
TypeLake freighter
Tonnage
Displacement34,135 long tons
Length
Beam75 ft (23 m)
Draft26.6 ft (8.1 m) (typical)
Depth39 ft (12 m) (moulded)
Installed power
PropulsionSingle five bladed fixed pitch 20 ft (6.1 m) propeller[4]
Speed19 mph (31 km/h)
Capacity27,500 tons of cargo

SS Edward L. Ryerson is a steel-hulled American Great Lakes freighter built in 1960. Throughout her career on the Upper Great Lakes, she has been laid up multiple times. Since 2009, she has been in long-term layup at the Fraser Shipyard in Superior, Wisconsin. She is one of only two American-owned straight deck lake freighters, the other one being the 1958-built freighter John Sherwin.

Built between April 1959, and January 1960, she was the third of the 13 so-called "730-class" of lake freighters, each of which shared the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes" because of their record-breaking length. She was not only the last steam-powered freighter built on the lakes but also the last one that was not a self-unloader. Edward L. Ryerson became well known for her elegant lines, and enthusiasts consider her to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing lake freighters ever built. Because of her top speed of 19 mph (31 km/h), she received the nickname of "Fast Eddie". Built almost exclusively to transport iron ore, she completed her sea trials on August 3, 1960. After this, she travelled to Escanaba, Michigan, where she loaded over 22,637 long tons (25,353 short tons; 23,000 t) of iron ore, embarking on her maiden voyage for Indiana Harbor, Indiana, on August 4. Edward L. Ryerson set a cargo haulage record that stood for three years on August 28, 1962, after loading 24,623 long tons (27,578 short tons; 25,018 t) tons of iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin. She quickly became one of the most popular boats on the lakes, to the point that there were rumours she would regularly be directed through the MacArthur Lock for the benefit of boat watchers.

Because of a downturn in the steel industry, Edward L. Ryerson was laid up in Indiana Harbor for the 1986 and 1987 shipping seasons, returning to service in 1988. She was laid up for a second time in January 1994 in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, remaining inactive throughout 1994, 1995 and 1996, reentering service in April 1997. In 1998, Inland Steel was acquired by Ispat International N.V. Also in 1998, Edward L. Ryerson was renamed Str. Edward L. Ryerson. She was sold to the Indiana Harbor Steamship Company, which was managed by Central Marine Logistics of Griffith, Indiana; she entered long term layup at the Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay in December of that same year, returning to the lakes in 2006. In 2009, she entered long-term layup in Superior, remaining stationary as of 2021.

History[]

Design and construction[]

Photograph of the launch of Edward L. Ryerson
Launch of Edward L. Ryerson

In 1959, the Inland Steel Company of Chicago contracted H.C. Downer & Associates Incorporated of Cleveland to design a ship to be constructed by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.[4][6] This vessel was one of the first lakers built to the maximum length allowed for passage through the St. Lawrence Seaway, which was completed in the same year as the ship.[7][8] Her hull has an overall length of 730 feet (222.5 m) (a length between perpendiculars of 712 feet (217.0 m) and a 702 foot (214.0 m) keel). She has a 75 foot (23 m) beam and a draft of 26.6 feet (8.1 m).[5][4] The moulded depth (roughly the vertical height of the hull) is 39 ft (12 m). The first keel plate was laid on April 20, 1959.[9]

Edward L. Ryerson is the third of the thirteen so-called "730-class" of lake freighters built; five were American, of which she is the first.[9] With a deadweight capacity of 26,055 long tons (29,182 short tons; 26,473 t),[4] and a 730-foot (220 m) hull, Edward L. Ryerson was one of the longest ships on the Great Lakes at the time of her construction. This earned her the unofficial title of Queen of the Lakes,[10] which she shared with the other ships in her class until December 7, 1959, when the 730.2-foot (222.6 m) Frankcliffe Hall was launched.[11] She has a gross tonnage of 12,170 tons and a net tonnage of 7,637 tons.[5] Edward L. Ryerson's four unique vertical-sided cargo holds were loaded through 18 watertight hatches, each 20 by 54 feet (6.1 by 16.5 m). [9][12] She was the first vessel on the Great Lakes to be equipped with aluminium hatch covers,[13] which are positioned 24 feet (7.3 m) apart.[4]

The ship is equipped with two 9,900 shp (7,400 kW) General Electric cross-compound steam turbines, which are powered by two 465 psi oil-burning Combustion Engineering boilers. She can carry 139,128 U.S. gal (526,660 L; 115,848 imp gal) of fuel oil.[9] Propelled by a single five-bladed fixed pitch 20 ft (6.1 m) propeller—the largest propeller used on a lake freighter in 1960—[4][14] she had a top speed of 19 mph (31 km/h). In 1969, the installation of a diesel-powered bow thruster improved the ship's maneuverability.[9]

Edward L. Ryerson's owners intended her to be as aesthetically attractive and luxurious as possible, reportedly spending more than $8 million (equivalent to $54.8 million in 2019[15]) on her accommodations alone. She can accommodate up to 37 crewmen and eight guests.[9][16] Enthusiasts consider her to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing freighters ever built.[9] In her basic design and construction, Edward L. Ryerson was considered to be a larger version of Inland Steel's 1949 freighter Wilfred Sykes.[9][10] She is the last steam-powered American freighter built on the lakes, and also the last one built without a self-unloading boom. She was the last American freighter built on the lakes until Stewart J. Cort in 1972, and the last lake freighter constructed in Manitowoc.[5][9]

Name and Launch[]

Photograph of Edward L. Ryerson in the Manitowoc River
Edward L. Ryerson stuck in the Manitowoc River

Edward L. Ryerson was named after Inland Steel's chairman of the board, Edward Larned Ryerson. He was the president of the steel service centre, Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, until 1935, when the company merged with Inland Steel. From 1940 until his retirement in 1953, Ryerson remained the chairman of the board of both companies.[4][9] The christening and launch ceremony of Edward L. Ryerson took place on January 21, 1960. Sponsored by Mrs. Edward L. Ryerson, the ship was launched sideways on wooden rollers into the ice-filled Manitowoc River.[7][9][16] On July 28, 1960, Edward L. Ryerson was set to leave the shipyard through the Manitowoc River. However, there were several areas of the river that the ship could not transit because of her size. Dredging was necessary at these sections, and at one point, part of the shoreline had to be dug away. The work lasted for four hours.[17] An article published in The Herald Times Reporter described moving Edward L. Ryerson "like building a cruiser in the basement and then engineering it through a door too small for its shortest dimension".[9][17] Edward L. Ryerson began her sea trials on August 1, finishing them on August 3.[4][9]

Career[]

Edward L. Ryerson was designed almost exclusively for the iron ore trade.[7] After completing her sea trials, the ship departed Manitowoc in ballast shortly after midnight on August 4, for Escanaba, Michigan.[17] Upon arriving at Escanaba, she loaded 22,846 long tons (25,588 short tons; 23,213 t) of iron ore bound for Indiana Harbor, Indiana, where she arrived on August 6.[9][14][16] Edward L. Ryerson set cargo haulage records twice during the early 1960s.[4][9][7] Both times, she loaded iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin, and headed for Indiana Harbor, Indiana. She set the first record in 1961, when she loaded 23,009 long tons (25,770 short tons; 23,378 t) of ore,[4][7] and her second record on August 28, 1962, when she loaded 24,623 long tons (27,578 short tons; 25,018 t) of ore at the Great Northern Railway's Allouez ore docks. Her second record would be broken in 1965.[4][9][7][16] Because of her top speed of 19 mph (31 km/h), she received the nickname "Fast Eddie".[9] Edward L. Ryerson quickly became a favourite among boat watchers on the lakes, and there were rumours she would regularly be directed through the MacArthur Lock for the benefit of enthusiasts. On board, a stainless steel map of the Great Lakes, with a magnetic representation of Edward L. Ryerson, had been installed to keep the guests informed about her location.[18] In 1976, Joseph L. Block superseded Edward L. Ryerson as Inland Steel's largest vessel.[18]

Photograph of Edward L. Ryerson in the Tower Slip
Edward L. Ryerson laid up in the Tower Slip

Because of a downturn in the steel industry, Edward L. Ryerson was laid up in Indiana Harbor from the end of 1985 to the beginning of 1988, when she returned to service.[9][18] In August 1989, she loaded a cargo of mill scale in Detroit, Michigan.[19] On July 18, 1992, Edward L. Ryerson loaded the first ever cargo of iron ore pellets to leave Escanaba.[19] She once again entered layup on January 24, 1994, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, remaining inactive until 1996, returning to service on April 5, 1997.[9][20] On November 13, 1997, she was placed in the dry dock at Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay for her five-year inspection.[21] In 1998, Ispat International N.V. acquired Inland Steel, and the ship was renamed (steamer) Str. Edward L. Ryerson.[9] She was sold to the Indiana Harbor Steamship Company, which was managed by Central Marine Logistics of Griffith, Indiana,[2][9] entering long-term layup at the Bay Shipbuilding Company in Sturgeon Bay on December 12 of that same year.[9] Throughout the 1998 shipping season, Edward L. Ryerson carried 1,476,310 long tons (1,653,467 short tons; 1,500,000 t) of iron ore from Escanaba over the course of 55 visits.[22] The ship was moved to Sturgeon Bay's east dock on December 7, 2000, and back to Bay Shipbuilding on August 17, 2004.[9] Edward L. Ryerson re-entered service on June 3, 2006, departing Sturgeon Bay for Escanaba on July 22, 2006, where she loaded 25,227 long tons (28,254 short tons; 25,632 t) of iron ore bound for Indiana Harbor.[9] She entered layup in 2009, at the Fraser Shipyard in Superior, Wisconsin.[5] In 2013, she was moved to the Tower Slip, near Barko Hydraulics because of soil testing at the Fraser Shipyards. She was moved into the Cumming Slip in 2019 because of soil testing at the Tower Slip.[3]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Berry (2020).
  2. ^ a b Central Marine Logistics (2010).
  3. ^ a b Duluth News Tribune (2019).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wenstadt (2007), p. 283.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bowling Green State University (2010).
  6. ^ Small Business Administration (1963), p. 634.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Bawal (2009), p. 75.
  8. ^ Thompson (1994), pp. 163–171.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Boatnerd (2008).
  10. ^ a b Thompson (1994), p. 171.
  11. ^ Thompson (1994), p. 178.
  12. ^ Great Lakes Maritime Institute (1995), p. 115.
  13. ^ National Park Service (1987), p. 16.
  14. ^ a b Great Lakes Maritime Institute (1995), p. 116.
  15. ^ Thomas, Ryland & Williamson, Samuel H. (2020). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved September 22, 2020. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  16. ^ a b c d Manitowoc County Historical Society (2020).
  17. ^ a b c The Herald Times Reporter (2020).
  18. ^ a b c Bawal (2009), p. 77.
  19. ^ a b Bawal (2009), p. 79.
  20. ^ Great Lakes Maritime Institute & August 1997, p. 87.
  21. ^ Great Lakes Maritime Institute & April 1997, p. 45.
  22. ^ Great Lakes Maritime Institute (1999), p. 87.

References[]

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