Joseph H. Thompson

The steamer-turned-barge Joseph H. Thompson was one of the most historic vessels afloat, serving in war and peace on the ocean and the Great Lakes.

She was built by Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock in Chester, PA, early 1944 as the 515-foot C4-S-B2 cargo vessel Marine Robin, hull #342 for the U.S. Maritime Commission for the World War II effort. The vessel was powered by a 9,900 hp G.E. steam turbine. As Marine Robin, the vessel made cross-Atlantic voyages for the war effort and was present at the Normandy invasion June 6, 1944. After the war the Marine Robin and her C-4 cargo sisters were put into mothball fleets along the East Coast.

Shortly after the start of the Korean conflict in the early 1950s, the demand for iron ore skyrocketed. Great Lakes fleet owners struggled to keep up with demand. Shipyards on the American and Canadian side were backed up with orders for new hulls. Several companies looked to former ocean vessel as the answer for instant tonnage.

Cleveland Cliffs started the trend by purchasing the 455 foot Victory ship Notre Dame Victory and converting her into the 620-foot lake bulk carrier Cliffs Victory (She would eventually be lengthened to 716′ 3″). Slightly shorter and with a smaller beam than the C-4s, the Victory proved the ex-sea going vessels a workable option to fill the need for more hulls. Following Cleveland Cliffs example, several other U.S. and Canadian companies purchased surplus ocean vessels. Marine Robin, along with her C-4 sisters Louis McHenry Howe, Scott E. Land, Marine Angel and Mount Mansfield, were all converted for lake service.

Marine Robin was purchased by the Wisconsin-Michigan Steamship Co. of Milwaukee, owned by Sand Products Corp., in 1950. She was next sold to Hansand Steamship Co. (M.A. Hanna managed), a 50/50 partnership between Sand Products Corp. and Hanna Mining of Cleveland. She was converted in 1952 by Maryland Dry Dock Co. in Baltimore. The Robin was given a new forebody built by Ingalls Shipbuilding Co., Pascagoula, MS, and had her deck houses converted from mid-ship style to the traditional fore-and-aft cabins. Her original G.E. turbine was retained. The now 714′ 3″ vessel was towed up the Mississippi River and the Chicago canal system in two sections so they could clear the locks on both waterways. The vessel’s long and complicated journey to the lakes ended at the American Shipbuilding Co. yard in Chicago IL. There, the two sections were rejoined and the new steamer Joseph H. Thompson (U.S. 245496) became the Queen of the Lakes and the largest freight ship in the world at 714′ 3″ in length, 71′ 6″ in width and 38′ 6″ in depth.

The Thompson took to the water on November 1952 and continued to serve her owners until 1981, when the bottom fell out of the ore market, sending her and several other middle-aged vessels to lay-up The Hanna Mining fleet sat idle in Detroit for most of the early 80s due to the lack of cargo. Hanna Mining made the tough decision to abandon its marine transportation services after nearly 100 seasons on the lakes. The fleet’s vessels were put up for sale. Even the fleet’s nearly new 1004-foor George A. Stinson was offered at a discount, but to little interest. One by one the classic Hanna vessels were towed off the lakes to the cutter’s torch. The 710′ George M. Humphrey (the first American laker with a 75-foot beam), and the 730-foot-long steamers Leon Falk Jr. and Paul H. Carnahan (both converted WWII T-2 tankers) all had dates with the scrappers in the early 1980s. Most in the vessel community believed the Thompson’s number was also up.

In 1985, Escanaba, MI’s Upper Lakes Towing Co. purchased the steamer and announced plans to convert her to a self-unloading barge. ULT had successfully converted the smaller self-unloader/crane ship Buckeye and planed a similar conversion for the Thompson. Shortly after ULT bought the Thompson, conversion was started at Menominee and Escanaba. The cabins were removed and the hull was shortened to create a notch for a push vessel. A stern-mounted bucket-style self-unloading system was also added. Her push tug, the 146′ 06″/38’/35′ Joseph H. Thompson Jr., was constructed in 1990 from  leftover steel from the larger ship’s hull. The tug was powered by three G.M. diesel engines delivering 7,500 bhp.

The duo entered service in September 1990 after an over five-year long conversion project. The Thompson Jr. was repowered in 2007 with a pair of new MaK diesels. In 2015, the duo was acquired by VanEnkevort Tug & Barge, also of Escanaba, MI. In 2019, the Joseph H. Thompson was married with the newly-acquired saltwater tug Laura L. VanEnkevort, making her more maneuverable and the pair shorter in order to access harder-to-reach docks. The Joseph H. Thompson Jr. was rebuilt to push VanEnkevort’s newest barge, Michigan Trader, operating on the Great Lakes today.

The cost efficiency of her reduced crew kept her active ever since her conversion, however by 2023 age had taken its toll. An inspection at Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, WI., over the summer revealed that the historic hull needed more repairs than could be economically justified. On Sept, 22, 2023 her sale to Marine Recycling Corp., Port Colborne, ON, was announced by MRC’s owner, Wayne Elliott.

Written by Brian Ferguson, edited by Brendan Falkowski