Industrial History: 1952 M/V Kaye E. Barker/Benson Ford/Edward B. Green

I'm coming across more and more photos of the M/V Kaye E. Barker. It is a classic laker that has the pilothouse on the bow. Since these are becoming rare, I think this freighter is worth noting.

A former Benson Ford now has its pilothouse setting on an island.

This freighter allided with a bridge in Green Bay, WI, in 2017.

interlake-steamship @ Marquette Ore
The M/V Kaye E. Barker was built by American Ship Building Company at Toledo, Ohio, as Edward B. Greene, flagship of the Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company fleet. She was lengthened with the addition of a 120-foot midbody section at Fraser Shipyards, Inc., Superior, Wisconsin, in 1976. In 1981, American Ship Building Company, Toledo, converted her to a self-unloader. In 1985, she joined the Rouge Steel Company fleet and was renamed Benson Ford. Upon joining the Interlake family in 1989, she became Kaye E. Barker, honoring the wife of Interlake’s Chairman of the Board and President. In 2012, the Kaye E Barker was repowered at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Carrying Capacity: 25,900 Gross Tons

Overall Length: 767' (233.8m)

Year Built: 1952

Hull Depth: 36' (11m)

Beam: 70' (21.3m)

Engine Horsepower: 8,000

Nicole Priscilla Young posted
The first ship in Great Lakes history to be built completely in drydock, 1951.
She's a good looking laker
Marie Jeanquart: Nicole Priscilla Young Was this picture taken before she was converted to a self-unloader....or am I missing something?
Glenn Blaszkiewicz: Marie Jeanquart yes. Looks like she’s already been lengthened so it is after the winter of 75-76 but before she was given a boom in 1981.

This video of the freighter is what motivated me to consolidate my information concerning this laker. I chose this screenshot because it taught me that it has a stern thruster in addition to a bow thruster and because it includes part of the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, MI.

3:09 video @ 1:48 (source)

In July 2017, it allided with a bridge in Green Bay. This photo shows a normal transit of the laker through that bridge. It is a challenge because the bridge is on an angle with the river.

Chuck Zentmeyer photo via Interlake Steamship post via Dennis DeBruler

One of its regular runs was delivering iron ore to the steel mill on Zug Island.

1 of 11 photos posted by Andrew Dean Detroit via Dennis DeBruler

Kaye E. Barker unloads coal at Zug Island as tugs Wyoming and Wisconsin assist the Algoma Compass into the Rouge River.

Detroit, Michigan 10/28/2021

Interlake Steamship Company

The Great Lakes Towing Company and Great Lakes Shipyard

This laker still serves the Cleveland-cliffs/Ford River Rouge Steel plant so it also goes up the River rouge.

Jonathan Konopka posted via Dennis DeBruler
Seen here is the Kaye E. Barker passing the West Jefferson Avenue Bridge in Detroit, MI. The bridge is a bascule bridge that was built in 1922 and crosses the Rouge River. Photo credit belongs to Andrew Russell.

And it goes down the river.

Andrew Dean Detroit posted
Kaye E. Barker waiting for Conrail Bridge to let up as the first bit of morning sun rises up on the Rouge River in Detroit.
Tom Rothe: Awesome picture! What amazes me is maneuvering a 1000 ft vessel through the narrow river channels. The captains are superb. Your drone captions show the extant how precise the skill is needed, your drone gets kudos.
Dennis DeBruler: Tom Rothe The Kaye E. Barker is "just" 767'. But it is still amazing that they can thread those needles.
http://www.interlake-steamship.com/our-fleet/m-v-kaye-e.-barker/
Dennis DeBruler: Tom Rothe In another post, https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDeanDetroit/...WjG3BfkLWl, Andrew explains that Lee A Tregurtha is the longest freighter that navigates the rouge River. It is 826'.
http://www.interlake-steamship.com/our-fleet/m-v-lee-a.-tregurtha/
Andrew Russell shared
Karen Douglas: That seems unusual to me.....Not having the bridge staffed 24/7. Am I wrong?
Andrew Russell: Karen Douglas the bridge is remotely activated. They were forced to wait for a nearby train.

This is the second post about the Kaye E. Barker that I saw on Dec 7, 2020, that helped motivate me to feature this laker.
Fortunately, Andrew waited for the bridge to open and these are the five photos he took of the freighter going through the bridge. I changed the order to put them in chronological order.

5 of 12 photos Andrew Dean Detroit posted via Dennis DeBruler with the comment: "It was a beautiful and calm Sunday morning on the Rouge River. Kaye E. Barker just finished unloading at Cliffs and was exiting the Rouge River. Conrail Bridge took some time to clear, while waiting she drifted into a bit of a rough angle, but amazingly they passed close and successfully. It’s always amazing how the captain and crew can maneuver such a big ship around a small river!"

David Olson: Was the Conrail bridge just slow to open or was there a train crossing?

Arni Foss: David Olson they left 8 cars on the block we had to wait for an engine.

Andrew Russell shared

d
Arni Foss: 12 feet to be exact.
That's what the third mate said
Dennis DeBruler: This photo is a good demonstration of the importance of bow thrusters for lakers. You can see the propwash from the thruster as the freighter creates more clearance.

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Dennis DeBruler: And the propwash indicates the bow thruster is still pushing. I presume from the exhaust plume that it is using a good fraction of its 8,000 horsepower to get the freighter through this bridge. http://www.interlake-steamship.com/.../m-v-kaye-e.-barker/

Andrew gives us some more views of the West Jefferson Avenue Bridge.

4 of 12 photos Andrew Dean Detroit posted via Dennis DeBruler with the comment: "It was a beautiful and calm Sunday morning on the Rouge River. Kaye E. Barker just finished unloading at Cliffs and was exiting the Rouge River."

Andrew Russell shared

Bill Kloss posted via Dennis DeBruler
An undated Chuck Drumm photo. Ernest T. Weir and Edward B. Greene at the C&P dock in Cleveland. Ernest T. Weir became the Courtney Burton for Columbia, and Edward B. Greene still sails as Interlake's Kaye E. Barker.

1 of 3 photos posted by Tim Keefe via Dennis DeBruler
Good morning! Sunrise this morning, 7/21/22, sees two classic lakers in Milwaukee at the same time. The Kaye E Barker is in port delivering limestone from Stoneport, MI, while the Alpena delivers a load of cement from Alpena, MI.
Peter Richards: Plenty of quality limestone comes from northeast Michigan. Conveniently deposited near the surface of the land, and adjacent to the lake, makes for easy mining and transport.

Thom Skelding posted via Dennis DeBruler
Kaye Barker, Marquette. 11/29/2022

Thom Skelding posted via Dennis DeBruler
Kaye Barker in Marquette this morning. 11/29/2022

Kiefer J Kohlbeck posted via Dennis DeBruler
Kaye E Barker, going under the highway bridge in sturgeon bay, July 4th, 2019

Interlake Steamship Company posted via Dennis DeBruler
We love this shot of our M/V Kaye E. Barker when she was in Green Bay recently!
📸: Chuck Zentmeyer
Arni Foss: It was blowing quite a bit out of the NE she didn't want to go through very easy, but we made it.
[A comment indicates that it dropped off coal, not stone. It is going through the CN/FVW/GBW/WC Bridge.]

Kenneth Bailey posted
The Kaye Barker at the Rouge Steel Mill on July 8, 2017. If you look closely towards the top, you can see a 747 taking from Detroit Metro.
[1951, BoatNerd]

When it was renamed Benson Ford in 1985, it was the third laker to carry that name.