With the Michipicoten in drydock, I’ve been hoping we’d get to see some really unusual ships coming to cover her run for her and that’s turned out to be true! While she arrived on the Superior side in 2021, the 50 year old laker Robert S Pierson arriving through the Duluth Canal and saluting the Lift Bridge apparently for the first time since August, 2005 when she made an equally rare visit under the name Wolverine. She primarily operates a route between Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, hauling coal and limestone. In the last week she’s been operating the Soo iron ore run, first loading at Two Harbors (which I missed her at), then Marquette and now finally Duluth. She is my girlfriend’s favorite ship despite this being her first time operating in the area, because she and the ship share the same last name! Unfortunately she was working during her arrival but hopefully we can catch her departure! Maybe we’ll get more entertainment from the museum announcer too lol.

Built in 1974 as the Wolverine, the Pierson is 630ft long, 68ft wide with a maximum carrying capacity of 19,600 tons, or 14,700 tons through the Welland Canal. She is a modern style stern pilothouse laker, except with a hull design based on that of a classic laker with the pointed bow and low freeboard characteristic of those designs, plus a very unique stern. She is the third of three identical sister ships, the others being Calumet and Manitowoc. She also has a fourth near sister, Algoma Compass, which uses the same design but is 50ft longer and 10ft wider. Known as the River Class, these vessels were designed specifically to navigate incredibly tight rivers such as the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, and others. All four vessels are very active in the lower lakes but are almost unheard of in Lake Superior.

She operated as the Wolverine until 2007 when Oglebay Norton sold their entire fleet off, and the three sisters in that fleet ended up in Rand Logistics. Two of the three ended up in the US based Grand River Navigation fleet, while the Pierson went to the Canadian based Lower Lakes fleet. She grounded several times in 19931994 but was not significantly damaged by any of those. In 1994 she collided with 2 small boats on the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland. In 1997 she dented her nose in coming in too fast to a fuel dock in Corunna, Ontario, causing roughly $15,000 in damage. Because she spends a lot of her time passing through the Welland Canal, she takes a beating though, the tight locks leaving her with a lot of scars, particularly down her port side.

Always very exciting to see a rare ship!! Hopefully it’s not another 19 years before we see her again!