Algoriver/2002



Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature -- Algoriver

By George Wharton

This traditional styled straight-decker was built by Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, PQ and was christened Aug. 26, 1960 as the John A. France for Misener Shipping Ltd., St. Catherines, ON. Burning heavy fuel oil, this vessel is powered by a General Electric steam turbine engine rated at 9,000 installed horsepower. She is equipped with a bow thruster. Her 22 hatches feed into 6 holds where she can carry 24,900 tons at maximum Seaway draft of 26 feet and is capable of carrying 26,800 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 27 feet 7 1/2 inches.

As part of the Misener fleet, grain products and iron ore were the primary cargoes for the John A. France. Her maiden voyage was in ballast from Montreal to Pointe Noire, PQ where she loaded Labrador iron ore for Ashtabula, OH; delivering the cargo Sept. 8, 1960. During her second season of sailing, she carried a record load of 835,195 bushels of flax from Fort William, ON (now Thunder Bay) loading on Nov. 14, 1961 for delivery to Port Colborne, ON. This flax record still stands today.

The beginning of the 1991 season saw the John A. France sail under the management of Great Lakes Bulk Carriers, Inc., St. Catherines, ON. The consortium Great Lakes Bulk Carriers, Inc. was a partnership of the bulker fleets of Canada Steamship Lines, Misener Holdings Ltd., and Pioneer Shipping Ltd. Also formed in the early 1990's was the consortium Seaway Bulk Carriers, Inc., Winnipeg, MB. It was a partnership of the other two large Canadian bulker fleets owned by Algoma Central Marine and Upper Lakes Shipping. These partnerships were formed in an effort to maximize profits and vessel utilization in a difficult economy for bulker fleets.

With the demise of the Misener fleet and Great Lakes Bulk Carriers; Algoma Central Corp., Sault Ste. Marie, ON acquired the John A. France in 1994 renaming her Algoriver. The Algoriver name is derived from her owning Company's name Algoma (Algo) and (river) in honor of the St. Mary's River joining Lake Superior with Lake Huron.

The Algoriver sailed under the management of Seaway Bulk Carriers from 1995 through to the end of the 1999 navigation season. She currently sails under the management of the newly formed Seaway Marine Transport, Inc., St. Catherines, ON (partnership of Algoma Central and Upper Lakes Group). The Algoriver's activities continue to be focused in the grain products and iron ore trades. As such, her sailings can be subject to long periods of lay-ups due to the seasonal fluctuations of the grain industry.

The Algoriver's 2000 sailing season typifies the fate of many Canadian Great Lakes bulkers that see activity only during the fall grain rush. The Algoriver departed her Montreal lay-up berth on Sept. 26 sailing in ballast to Pointe Noire, PQ to load iron ore for Indiana Harbor; then in ballast to Thunder Bay for a cargo of grain products to Port Cartier, PQ. Her season ended with a load of grain products from Thunder Bay to Montreal where she arrived Dec. 23, 2000 for unloading and lay-up. During this short season, the Algoriver visited Thunder Bay five times to load grain cargoes destine for Hamilton, ON; Montreal and Port Cartier, PQ.

A fine example of a traditional styled steam powered "grain boat"; the Algoriver remains a boatwatcher's delight.

Overall dimensions

Length: 722'06"

Beam: 75'00"

Depth: 39'00"

Capacity (tons): 26,800