When built in Belgium in 1980, she bore the name FEDERAL OTTAWA and was used to carry steel into the Great Lakes and returned overseas with grain products such as wheat, flax, peas, and soybeans as well as potash and bentonite. In 1995 her name was changed to LAKE ERIE and was registered in the Marshall Islands. In 2008, the bulk carrier was sold to Canada Steamship Lines and in the following year, they changed her name to RICHELIEU, the third CSL vessel to bear that name. Incidentally, the gross tonnage for the RICHELIEU is 22,734 tons and according the St. Lawrence Seaway's website, a bulk carrier like the RICHELIEU can move enough wheat to make bread for everyone in New York City for nearly a month and can carry as much cargo as three 100-unit trains or 870 truckloads. Huh, I did not know that.
The RICHELIEU continued to haul prairie grain to St. Lawrence River elevators for another month after I took my pics. However her arrival at Pier 56 North at Montreal on January 1, 1913, for winter layup, also marked the end of her trading on the Great Lakes. Design as a saltie-laker, RICHELIEU's last passage under her own power, would be to cross the Atlantic and Mediterranean for dismantling at Aliaga, Turkey, She arrived there on August 28, 2013, and 3 months later, so would sister SAGUENAY on November 30th.
Meanwhile, here's a couple of beautiful photos of the then FEDERAL OTTAWA as the upbound bulk carrier wearing her original FedNav colours approached the Welland Canals Lock 1 on April 22, 1990 by Jeff Cameron of St. Catharines.
BTW, to view thousands of Great Lakes ship photos both modern and vintage, be sure to checkout http://www.greatlakesships.ca or http://www.oceanships.ca for photos of ships from elsewhere around the world. You'll be Glad You Did!!
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