Great Lakes Fleet’s Ties to Duluth Stretch Back to 1901 and One Man’s Refusal to Leave the Big Lake

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Augustus B. Wolvin wouldn’t leave Duluth.

In early 1901, he told executives at the newly formed U.S. Steel Corporation that if they wanted him to manage the “Steel Trust” fleet, he’d only do it from his adopted hometown.

The newly formed fleet – a hodgepodge of 112 vessels from six different companies – had just been brought together by the industry-shaking incorporation of the steelmaking giant.

U.S. Steel declined. No matter how talented the vessel agent, shipbuilder and then-president of the Lake Carriers’ Association was, company officials said the fleet simply had to be headquartered in Cleveland, traditionally the heart of Great Lakes shipping.

That decision lasted a few days.

“U.S. Steel appointed James Gayley of the Carnegie Steel Company to be the Steel Corporation’s vice president in charge of mines, docks and ships,” writes Al Miller in his book Tin Stackers, a history of today’s Great Lakes Fleet.

“Surprising everyone, Gayley immediately contacted Wolvin … and told him he could run the Steel Trust fleet from Duluth.”

And so, on May 1, 1901, U.S. Steel unveiled the Pittsburgh Steamship Company, a subsidiary managed by Augustus and his team in Duluth. It was the start of 115 years of Duluth history for the fleet.

The company lives on today – based in Duluth – as Great Lakes Fleet, its nine vessels easily identified by the gray and black stripes on red hulls. It’s the only major fleet with headquarters on Lake Superior.

During its first three years, Augustus brought his huge fleet to heel – developing a dispatching system, consolidating payrolls and assessing a disparate group of vessels bigger than the U.S. Navy. The merging of dozens of companies and subsidiaries to create U.S. Steel had happened so swiftly, mere months before the start of the shipping season, that the ships were a true fleet on paper alone.

“The (painting) work was done as the ships unloaded at Lake Erie ports,” Al writes in Tin Stackers. “Many had to get under way before the painting was finished, however, and for much of the summer, Steel Trust ships sailed up and down the lakes with their paint jobs in varying stages of completion.”

In 1904, Augustus left to pursue other ventures. The headquarters moved to Cleveland, though the fleet maintained a presence in Duluth. Sixty-seven years later, in 1971, U.S. Steel returned the fleet headquarters to Duluth to be closer to the source of the corporation’s ore – Minnesota’s Iron Range. The company even moved back into the fleet’s original building. Today, when all of its vessels are sailing, the company employs about 320 people.

Great Lakes Fleet was founded through consolidation, during the birth of U.S. Steel, and it only received its present-day name when the steelmaker merged the Pittsburgh Steamship Company and sister fleet Bradley Transportation Company in 1967. Those forces continue to reshape the industry.

“In transportation, it’s a story of consolidation,” says Joshua Juel, manager of Great Lakes Fleet. “Look at the domestic aviation industry. It’s gone from many regional carriers to the Big Three at this point. And for our business, you also have the Big Three (in the United States). You have American Steamship, you have Interlake and you have Great Lakes Fleet. … It’s quite a testament to the vision, hard work and critical decisions of many over its history that we’re still here.”

Within each fleet, too, the scores of small vessels were eventually replaced by the handful of massive ships that sail the Great Lakes today.

The Pittsburgh fleet started with 112 vessels in 1901. By 1955, it had been nearly halved to 59 ships. Today the fleet has just nine, but one 1,000-footer – like the Edgar B. Speer, launched in 1980 – can carry as much cargo as six 610-foot William A. Irvin. (Unlike most in its class, the outdated Irvin was saved from a grisly meeting with scrappers when, in 1986, it became a museum ship in Duluth.) Self-unloading technology on newer boats cut the unloading time from 24 hours to a mere seven, again adding to each ship’s annual carrying capacity. Moreover, these enormous vessels actually require fewer crew members, thanks to increased automation.

The changes continued in the 1980s. In 1981, Great Lakes Fleet was spun off into a U.S. Steel-owned subsidiary, left to chart its own course through a recession and troubles in the steel industry.

“For the first time in 80 years,” Al writes, “it would compete with other fleets on the open market and seek customers other than United States Steel Corporation. … The management staff of Great Lakes Fleet had to draw up a marketing plan and develop a strategy for grabbing a piece of the shrinking market for lake shipping.”

The tie to its founding company remains. “Our fate has long been tied to U.S. Steel,” says Joshua. “That’s our biggest customer, but we are a separate entity today.”

The spinoff accelerated the move toward versatile self-unloading ships, capable of servicing new customers, boosting unloading speed and reducing costs at the dock. After the 1981 season, Great Lakes Fleet sent three ships – Arthur M. Anderson, Cason J. Callaway and Philip R. Clarke, all still part of the fleet today – to Fraser Shipyards for self-unloading conversions. The upgrade has allowed those 767-foot vessels, by then nearly 30 years old, to sail economically for another 35.

Without a doubt, the longevity of the lakers, in all of the big shipping companies, has certainly contributed to the attachment so many boatwatchers have to their favorite ships. Great Lakes Fleet’s youngest vessels were launched 35 years ago and its oldest have sailed our waters since 1952. Thanks to fresh water, which unlike salt water doesn’t corrode hulls and workings as fast, and to good maintenance, these vessels have been visiting local ports for many peoples’ entire lifetimes.

“It’s a privilege to work in an industry where people are so passionate about what you do,” Joshua says of the boatnerd community. “I don’t know that it’s paralleled anywhere else, this fascination with boats, lighthouses and nautical lore and how it’s woven itself into music, poetry, the written form. There’s just something very emotional that strikes people. … I grew up loving the ships myself, and I think that’s part of the reason I’m here and several others on our team, too.”

Those watching for Great Lakes Fleet boats can easily identify them. The vessels received their current paint scheme in 1990. Until then, ships from the original Pittsburgh Steamship Company had red hulls, while those from the Bradley Transportation Company were painted gray. Each retained its distinctive look after U.S. Steel merged the two fleet organizations. After U.S. Steel sold its majority stake in the maritime company in 1988, Great Lakes Fleet developed its own visual identity: A red hull with a diagonal thick gray stripe and thinner black stripe on the bow.

Despite their advanced ages, the fleet’s ships are more “Six Million Dollar Man” than “Golden Girls.”

“They’ve been rebuilt from the inside out again,” says Greg Drickhamer, purchasing manager for Great Lakes Fleet. Adds Joshua, “Cosmetically they’re more or less the same, but external appearances do not reflect the millions of dollars that are spent annually on steel replacement, engine overhauls and technology upgrades. Even though you might say, ‘Oh my gosh, that ship is from 1952,’ pretty much everything inside has been gone over at some point.”

The John G. Munson, launched in 1952, is the latest fleet vessel to get a new lease on nautical life. It’s currently being outfitted with a diesel engine, replacing an aging steam engine and drivetrain. The 1,004-foot Edwin H. Gott was similarly repowered in 2011.

Diesel engines not only increase fuel efficiency, but also cut the ships’ environmental footprints. When paired with exhaust gas scrubbers – technology being installed on many Great Lakes vessels to meet EPA emissions requirements – the impact shrinks further.

Great Lakes Fleet is looking into installing scrubbers on its largest ships. They would offer cost savings for the fleet, too. “At the beginning of last season we had to go over to an ultra-low sulfur diesel for our vessels,” says Greg. Scrubbers would allow ships to use heavier fuel, a cheaper alternative to diesel, while still meeting emissions mandates.

Moving deeper into the 21st century, other industry challenges include the continued dumping of foreign steel, which has idled domestic mills and sent four U.S.-flagged 1,000-footers into early layup last fall.

Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, expressed hope that the market will bounce back once the playing field is leveled. “This is an industry that has a lot of years under its belt, and we expect to be here for a long time to come. We have not seen lots of boats being scrapped. Some of them have not operated, for sure, but (our members) have maintained their vessels. So the capacity is there when things really start hitting on all cylinders again.”

But challenges are nothing new for the Great Lakes maritime industry, and already there are signs that the winds are changing.

“Looking at a macro perspective, it’s a success story,” says Joshua of Great Lakes Fleet. “And you see that, beyond just Great Lakes Fleet, there are transportation companies investing serious capital dollars in the Duluth-Superior area. From the late-1800s to now, Duluth still serves a very important role for transportation.”

Continuing to adapt to the times, Great Lakes Fleet acquired the Great Republic in 2011, its first addition in a dozen years. The 634-footer can service smaller river ports and niche markets, important diversification for the fleet.

“That’s quite a thing for a company to have been in business for 115 years,” says Glen.

“Our members compete with each other, but also have tremendous respect for each other. Great Lakes Fleet is a first-class operation, and we wish them another 115 years.”

Q&A with a Fleet Captain

Mark Blatnik, captain of the flagship Roger Blough since 2009, signed on with Great Lakes Fleet in 1989. The native Duluthian told us about “coming up through the hawsepipe” – industry-speak for climbing the ranks from deckhand to officer – and his career on the inland seas.

How did you get started?

I was working making pizzas and working at a video store. And I decided that wasn’t going to cut it any longer. My brother had worked in the port service over the winter to paint boats, so I was going to work down there from January and paint boats until they went out in March. At the end of that job, they were looking for deckhands. So I just decided to try sailing for one season. One year led to the next. I just tried to advance as far and as fast as I could.

What’s one of your favorite things about sailing?

Every once in a while you get a really good view of the northern lights. It’s bright as can be out here because it’s pitch black and at times the whole sky lights up.

What’s your favorite port?

Duluth has to be a favorite port of mine. There’s always someone there, waiting to watch a boat come in. People are excited to see the boats come in, it doesn’t matter what time it is. We try to give them a big salute.

Who makes the decision to wait out bad weather?

That ends up being my call. The office people and traffic department always support our decisions.

You try to make decisions based on what you see and what some of the other vessels are doing. … Last night (during a late-April gale warning, when he hunkered down near Isle Royale), I saw that one of the 1,000-footers was running ahead of us. They were maybe 60 miles ahead of us; they ended up turning around and heading back toward Isle Royale.

It’s amazing how the Lake can change so suddenly. One day it can be totally flat – and the next, 20-foot seas out there. We try to avoid them as best we can, but sometimes you get caught. Everyone loves to see the rough-weather photos. … But it’s not an enjoyable place to be at times.

When you get into my position, when you have bad weather, I don’t sleep much at all. It’s constantly in the back of my mind. Am I watching the weather right? Am I doing the right thing?

What’s changed over the course of your career?

We see very few come up through the hawsepipe. Most of our officers now end up coming through a maritime academy. We’re trying to get the word out that it’s a good-paying job, good benefits, good vacation.

Why is the Blough so beloved?

It’s among the last of the conventional-style lakers. The newer boats in the fleet, like the Gott and Speer, the 1,000-footers, it’s like a tug-barge, where everything’s in the back – designed for hauling maximum tonnage. I don’t know if you’ll see another boat built with a forward pilothouse.

What’s a Flagship?

What does it mean to be the “flagship” of Great Lakes Fleet? According to the captain of the Roger Blough, it means it has the nicest quarters for visiting guests – like astronaut Neil Armstrong, who once came aboard. “They just put a little more quality into the craftsmanship,” says Captain Mark Blatnik. Plus, the ship has classic laker styling. It has a forward pilothouse and only a small shuttle boom on deck for unloading, unlike newer self-unloaders, giving it the look of a traditional “straight decker.”

Heroic Efforts

Two Great Lakes Fleet crews were among those searching in the wild November 10, 1975, storm for the lost Edmund Fitzgerald. The Arthur M. Anderson had maintained contact with the Fitz across Lake Superior until the Fitz went silent. Although Captain Jesse B. Cooper had just brought the Anderson safely into Whitefish Bay after a futile initial search, he went back into the storm when the U.S. Coast Guard requested that the boat rejoin the search with other U.S. and Canadian vessels, including the Roger Blough.