By Buck Longhurst
GORE BAY—Since the arrival of commercial fishing on the Great Lakes, six vessels have carried the name ‘Manitoulin.’
The first was a 152 foot wooden hulled combination passenger/package freight steamer dating back to April 22, 1880. This steamer caught fire and burned to the waterline near Manitowaning on May 18, 1882, with the loss of 20 lives. The hull was salvaged and rebuilt as the steamer Atlantic.
The second Manitoulin began life as the 178 foot steel hulled day passenger steamer Modjeska at the Napier, Shanks and Bell Shipyard, Yoker, Scotland on May 13, 1889. Upon her arrival at Toronto she began a 34-year career running passengers and fruit between Toronto, Hamilton and Port Dalhousie.
She was purchased by the Owen Sound Transportation Company and renamed Manitoulin in the spring of 1926. After being rebuilt as a combination passenger/package freighter she spent the next 23 years serving on the “Turkey Trail.” She was retired at the end of the 194 season and scrapped at Port Weller.
The third Manitoulin was one of 16 “Northern Isles” class armed naval trawlers built in Canada for the British Royal Navy during World War II.
HMS Manitoulin (T280) was built at Midland, Ontario and launched on April 23, 1942. She arrived at Halifax on November 30, 1942 and after a short work period she was assigned to the Sydney Escort force. At the War’s end she was sailed to Plymouth, England and placed in reserve. In early 1947 she was sold to M/S. Ran Rederi A S of Norway and rebuilt as a coastal passenger/cargo vessel and renamed Ran. In 1951 she was sold to Blue Peter Steamships Ltd., St John, Newfoundland and renamed Blue Peter II.
In 1965 she was sold to R.J. Sumarah and renamed William S., and in 1973 she was sold to A. Vincenti and enrolled in Panama as Queen Patricia.
In 1974 she was purchased by Mme Antoinette Rocha and renamed Georgias A Rocha but remained operating under the Panamanian flag. In early 1975 the ship ran aground on a reef near Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands and was abandoned.
The fourth Manitoulin was a steam powered canal sized bulk carrier operating for the Quebec and Ontario Transportation Company (Ontario Paper). The 259’ x 43’ x 17’8”, 1940 gross, 1,158 net ton vessel had a cargo capacity of 3,100 tons at a 16 foot draught. She had been built by Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Sunderland, England as Imari 1 1929.
In 1930 she was sold to the Welland, Ontario based St. Lawrence Steamships Ltd., and renamed Delaware. The government of Canada requisitioned her for war service in 1942 and transferred her to the British Ministry of War Transport who renamed her Empire Rother. The vessel was purchased by Quebec and Ontario Transportation Ltd., Montreal in 1948 and returned to Canada as Manicouagan. One year later she was renamed Washington Times Herald and in 1954 was christened Manitoulin. With the opening of the Seaway she was no longer economical and was sold for scrapping in 1961.
The fifth and largest vessel to be named Manitoulin was a 730 foot self unloader built for Canada Steamship Lines by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec as their Hull #650 and launched on May 26, 1966. An 8,000 bhp diesel powered vessel measuring 19,929 gross, 13,362 net registered tons Manitoulin had a cargo capacity of 24,500 long tons at 26’ Seaway draught or 28,100 tons at a mid-summer draught of 28’10.”
Manitoulin began her maiden voyage on July 6, 1966 sailing to Contrecoeur, Quebec where she loaded 19,292 long tons of manganese ore for delivery to Ashtabula, Ohio. During the winter layup of 1996-1997 she was the first CSL self unloader to have her hull colours changed from black to the familiar red of the bulkers and package freighters.
After 34 seasons of hard use hauling such caustic cargos as salt and potash Manitoulin laid up for the last time at Sorel, Quebec on December 27, 2000. She departed under tow by the tug Akhtiar on June 11, 2011 bound for the ship breakers at Aliaga, Turkey. She arrived on July 23, 2001 and was quickly broken up.
The sixth and present Manitoulin is a 664’ x 78’ x 45’ diesel powered self unloading bulk carrier which entered service on the Great Lakes in mid-November 2015 by taking a cargo of iron ore from Sept Isle, Quebec to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The 27,550 ton capacity vessel is operated by Lower Lakes Towing, Port Dover, Ontario (a division of Rand Logistics of New Jersey).
Manitoulin began life as the Croation build chemical tanker Tresli in 1991. In 2001 she was sold to the Danish firm Uni Tankers and renamed Euro Swan and in 2011 she became Lalandia Swan.
She was purchased by Lower Lakes Towing in the summer of 2014 and operated under charter as Lalandia Swan for four months before sailing to the Chengxi Shipyards at Jangyin, China where she was rebuilt as a Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier.
At the shipyard she was cut in half and her old forward end cargo section was removed and scrapped. A new self unloading forward end was added to the old after end engine/room accommodation section thus creating Manitoulin.
An occasional visitor at the Meldrum Bay quarry, Manitoulin is one of 10 vessels operated by Lower Lakes Towing, Port Dover and seven by the U.S. flag affiliate Grand River Navigation, of New York (both subsidiaries of Rand Logistics).
