The MV ''Kaye E. Barker'' is a self-discharging lake freighter owned and operated by the

Interlake Steamship Company The Interlake Steamship Company is an American freight ship company that operates a fleet on the Great Lakes in North America. It is now part of Interlake Maritime Services. The company is chaired by James R. Barker, with his son, Mark W. Bark ...

. She was originally built as the ''Edward B. Greene,'' and was later renamed ''Benson Ford'' before being sold to Interlake and named the ''Barker''. It primarily hauls

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

pellets, stone, and coal across the North American Great Lakes.

Construction

The ''Barker'' was constructed in

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

in 1952 for the Cleveland Cliffs Steamship Company as the ''Edward B. Greene'', one of the eight AAA class freighters used for ore and coal shipping. The ''Greene'' was the first lake freighter to be constructed entirely in drydock. She was christened on January 10, 1952, with her sea trials beginning on June 18 of the same year. On her maiden voyage, which took place on July 29, 19,788 tons of iron ore were loaded to be shipped to Toledo from Marquette, Michigan.

Description

The ''Greene'' was built 647 feet long with a hull depth of 36 feet. It was powered by a 7,700 SHP DeLaval

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

and was equipped with 24 hatches. It measured 11,726 gross tons.

Service history

The ''Greene'' hauled hematite pellets from ore docks in Marquette, Michigan, to steel refineries in Detroit.

Lengthening and conversion to a self-unloader

In the winter of 1975–1976, Fraser Shipyards, Inc. was contracted by Cleveland Cliffs to lengthen the ''Greene'' with a 120-foot mid-body section, increasing capacity to almost 27,000 tons. At the same time, six of the other AAA class freighters were lengthened in the same way. In 1981, the ship was converted to a self-unloading vessel, with the addition of a 250-foot aft-mounted boom.

Purchase by Rouge Steel Company

In 1985, four years after the conversion, the ''Greene'' was purchased by

Rouge Steel Company Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to: Compounds * Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones * Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide * Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...

, originally a division of Ford Motor Company. Upon the ship's purchase, it was renamed ''Benson Ford III''. Its new route stretched from Marquette to Detroit to supply the Ford plant there.

Purchase by Interlake Shipping Company

The Ford fleet was dissolved in 1989, leading to the Interlake Shipping Company's purchase of all remaining Ford boats. With the purchase, Interlake signed a contract to ship iron ore to the Rouge Steel plant. This created the Lakes Shipping Company, a new division of Interlake.

Service with Interlake

Second Renaming

With Interlake's purchase of the ''Benson Ford'', the decision was made to rename it to the ''Kaye E. Barker'', after the wife of Interlake's president.

Repowering

In 2012, the ''Barker'' was repowered at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Her steam turbine was replaced with two 6-cylinder Rolls-Royce diesel engines and other equipment. Along with these upgrades, the ''Barker'' also received a replacement rudder and stock.

References

External links

* * {{Interlake Maritime Services Ships built in Toledo, Ohio Great Lakes freighters 1952 ships