Lakers & Salties

More than 25 companies operate ships on the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System. Find the latest information on shipbuilding, ship innovations, and technological advances here.

FBS Expects New Machine Shop In Late 2023

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding expects the completion of a new, 19,000-square-foot machine shop at its Surgeon Bay, Wisconsin, shipyard later this year. The company broke ground on the project last September... Read More

American Lakers Invest $126 Million in the Great Lakes States

U.S. shipping companies operating exclusively on the Great Lakes transitioned from sailing to the annual process of repairing, maintaining and modernizing their fleet of lakers.  Vessels ranging in length from... Read More

Longtime Great Lakes Fuel Supplier Poised To Meet Future Demands

In 1993, McAsphalt Industries acquired an idle ship fueling facility in Windsor, Ontario, and formed Sterling Fuels Limited. Initially, the new company focused on supplying marine fuels on the Canadian... Read More

Algoma and Furetank Double Investment in Product Tankers

Algoma Central Corporation (TSX: ALC) has doubled its investment in the FureBear joint venture, and will construct four additional dual-fuel ice class 1A 17,999 DWT climate-friendly product tankers with their... Read More

First New Laker In A Generation Embarks On Maiden Voyage

Ship watchers on the Great Lakes have a new “laker” to look out for, now that Interlake Steamship Company’s M/V Mark W. Barker has embarked on her maiden voyage. The... Read More

American Steamship Company’s Operating Fleet to be Certified by Green Marine

American Steamship Company, a pioneer in Great Lakes marine transportation, is the first domestic ship owner headquartered in the State of New York to participate in Green Marine, the leading... Read More

Algoma Central Corporation Sells Station Mall in Sault Ste. Marie

Algoma Central Corporation (TSX: ALC) has sold Station Mall, a large regional shopping complex located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The transaction closed on June 30, 2022. Station Mall, a... Read More

RINA and Fincantieri Join Forces in Research and Development

Fincantieri, one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, and RINA, an Italian inspection, certification and consulting engineering company, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop synergies in the field... Read More

Shipyard Innovations: Setting the Stage

Leading the way for powered vessel to ATB conversions on the Great Lakes The Joseph H. Thompson was far from being the first tug-barge on the Great Lakes, nor the... Read More

Alpena: Classic Laker 80 Years Young

In mid-March, the cement carrier Alpena departed her winter lay up dock in Cleveland sporting a fresh coat of paint from her five year inspection at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding at... Read More

Great Lakes Shipbreaking: Canada’s MRC Provides Clean, End-of-Life Ship Recycling

Great Lakes vessels have much longer lifespans than salties, but sooner or later, they, too, face the inevitable. When that time comes, their final journey could be to a breakers... Read More