Built by Port Weller Dry Docks, St. Catharines, ON; the Canadian Transport (2) was launched April 17, 1979 for Upper Lakes Group, Inc., Toronto, ON. This Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier is powered by twin M.A.N. type 8L40/54A 8-cylinder diesel engines rated at 10,000 total b.h.p. driving a controllable pitch propeller giving her a rated service speed of 13 knots. She is equipped with a 1,000 horsepower bow thruster. The Canadian Transport has 22 hatches feeding 1 large hold where she can carry 26,900 tons at maximum Seaway draft of 26 feet and is capable of carrying 35,100 tons at her maximum mid-summer draft of 30 feet 10 inches. Her self-unloading equipment consists of a single belt gravity system with a reclaiming machine and a loop belt elevator feeding a 250 foot discharge boom that can be swung 100 degrees to port or starboard. The system can discharge at a rate of up to 6,096 tons per hour. Only one man is required to operate the unloading console in the forecastle deck control room. The crew of thirty have the use of an on-board sauna and exercise room.

The first Canadian Transport was too large to transit the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes. This ship was built by Kure Shipyard Division, Kobe, Japan and was christened Ore Transport. She was constructed with the wheelhouse amidship and accommodations in the stern. Registered in Liberia, the Ore Transport sailed for Universe Tankships Inc. The vessel was bought by Leitch Transport (division of Upper Lakes Group) and renamed Canadian Transport in 1976. She operated in the St. Lawrence ore trade until 1978. Upon expiration of the contract, the Canadian Transport was tied up in Tampa, FL then towed to Spain in September, 1978 for scrapping. For this 2-year period, The Canadian Transport was the largest ship under Canadian registry. She was 794 feet long, 116 feet 6 inches wide, and was capable of carrying in excess of 70,000 tons. She was powered by a 16,500 horsepower General Electric steam turbine engine.

The Canadian Transport (2), the nearly identical Canadian Enterprise, as well as the Canadian Olympic were constructed as a result of a long-term coal supply contract between Upper Lakes Group and Ontario Hydro. The Canadian Transport’s name is derived from the fleet’s first word theme “Canadian” and the “Transport”ing of Ontario Hydro coal.

Besides carrying both western coal from Lake Superior ports and eastern coal from various Lake Erie ports to Ontario Hydro locations, the Canadian Transport has been noted as having carried other interesting cargoes. These include 29,300 tons of road salt from Fairport, OH on May 11, 1986 (a port record at the time) as well as the first load of limestone to the Marysville, MI dock of Blue Water Aggregates on the St. Clair River. Also of note; the Canadian Transport experienced a loop belt fire April 7, 1986 but suffered little damage due to the quick action of her crew. She opened the Welland Canal for the 162nd navigation season on March 28, 1990.

On June 24, 2001, the Canadian Transport’s engine room caught fire while the vessel was unloading at the Nanticoke power generating station. Reports state that a fuel line broke and started a fire. Crews tried to contain the fire but were forced to evacuate the engine room and the CO2 fire suppression system was activated. Two local fire departments were called to assist and no injuries were reported. The tugs Progress, Seahound and Vac towed the Transport to Port Weller Dry Docks where repairs took three weeks to complete. The remainder of the cargo was transfered to the Canadian Progress while at the PWDD fitout wall.

The Canadian Transport sailed under the management of Seaway Marine Transport, St. Catharines, ON (partnership of Algoma Central and Upper Lakes Group). Then, on February 25, 2011, a formal statement was issued announcing the sale of the privately owned Upper Lakes Shipping fleet and their associated interest in Seaway Marine Transport to Algoma Central Corporation. Former Upper Lakes Chairman of the Board, company spokesman and owner John D. (“Jack”) Leitch stated “It is with some regret and sadness that I tell you that we have decided to sell the vessels of Upper Lakes Shipping and our interest in Seaway Marine Transport to Algoma Central Corporation. A definitive agreement has been signed and the deal is anticipated to close in about a month. By the end of this season the proud logo on the funnels of Upper Lakes vessels will no longer be seen on the Great Lakes or along the St. Lawrence River.” Jack further states “For 80 years we have been a part of the Canadian landscape and of the fabric of the Canadian economy.” The Upper Lakes Shipping fleet will takes its place in modern Canadian Great Lakes history as having been a prominent player in the economic development of the regions served by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway system. On April 15, 2011, Algoma announced that the Canadian Transport will be renamed Algoma Transport.

Written by George Wharton.