Alpena - Finally Back in Service! The Oldest Laker Returns to Duluth/Superior

Here is the steamship Alpena arriving in the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior late on the afternoon of September 21, 2025. She was hauling her usual load of dry, bulk cement to offload at the Holcim dock in Superior, Wisconsin. But first we watch as she makes her arrival through the Duluth shipping canal, passing under the Aerial Lift Bridge. We then catch her again at Connor's Point in Superior as the sunlight reflects off her hull, before finally watching her dock at Holcim. She ties up against the freighter J.A.W. Iglehart, which now acts as a storage barge. The Iglehart will store the cement from the Alpena until the Holcim facility needs to offload it.

Unfortunately, the Alpena had a slow start to the 2025 shipping season. Inspections revealed that her steam turbine needed repair work. There was a significant delay until the parts could be obtained for her turbine and the repairs could be completed. She finally got underway in late August, five months later than planned. But the fact is she is now sailing the lakes again and delighting the crowds who come out to see her!

The Alpena gave us a captain's salute on her way into port with her steam horn. The salute was intended to be one long blast followed by two short blasts. It took a while for the horn to activate, as we hear steam escaping. So the salute ended up sounding more like three short blasts. But it was still a pleasure to hear one of the last steam horns on the lakes. Here's hoping we can see the Alpena at least once or twice more before the season ends!

The Alpena started her life as the 639-foot Leon Fraser in 1942, the first of five "super" carriers known as the Fraser class (or AA-class). She spend her first 40 years of service carrying mostly iron ore until she was laid up in 1982... mostly due to larger lakers (including the 1000 footers) rendering the older straight-deck steamers somewhat obsolete. Her four sister ships all met the scrapyard torch in 1988-1989. In 1989, the Leon Fraser was acquired by Fraser Shipyards in Superior to be converted into a cement hauler. Unlike other vessels that were lengthened to give them new life, the Fraser was shortened to 519 feet to serve her new role. Following conversion, she was acquired by Inland Lakes Management and renamed the Alpena, starting her life as a cement hauler in 1991... a role she still serves in today. While older hulls are used on the lakes as barges and storage vessels, the Alpena is the oldest self-contained lake carrier still in operation today. She still runs with her original De Laval cross-compound steam turbine, which puts out 4,400 shp (shaft horsepower). May she continue to sail for many more years to come!
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