Badger sold to Interlake

[Guest]

Last I heard the Spartan was in pretty good hull condition. LMC supposedly did full hull inspections every few years or so to make sure she maintained structural integrity.

As for the Badger, the press release made everything sound like it would maintain operations as usual for LMC. I foresee the PM 41/Undaunted getting integrated into Interlake Steamship Company and the Badger doing her usual Ludington-Manitowoc route.

[deckstir]

As MilwBob said, "let the speculation begin". Prior to the coal ash conversion, LMC looked into repowering Badger as a diesel-electric with the gensets ahead of the coal plant and propulsion motors aft. This would leave the coal plant disconnected but intact for keel ballast and tours of the historic plant. That's a possibility.
Mark Barker is a wise man and a visionary. There are many possibilities which could include barging Spartan, or repowering and refitting her for ferry or cruising use. Spartan is rough from sitting so long but fresh water is kind to hulls over time.
I think Interlake buying LMC will be a good thing and will help insure the future for that company. I also think it might cause ulcers for the owners of Lake Express who I believe have been trying to insure Badger's demise for quite a while.
Just my opinion.

[JB]

What about conversion to burn oil? Or does that wreck the historical designation, too?

I honestly don't know. And actually, the more I think about it, I don't think the landmark status necessarily prevents them from repowering the Badger as much as that there are just limitations on what they can/cannot do in terms of repowering it in order to keep the historic landmark status.

They might be able to convert it to burn oil with the current engines and keep the landmark status, but I doubt they'd be able to completely re-engine it with modern powerplants and keep the landmark status.

For example, with all the renovations they recently did on Wrigley Field in Chicago, there were certain changes they weren't allowed to make in order to preserve the ballpark's landmark status - chiefly among them the ivy on the outfield walls and the center-field scoreboard.

[Darryl]

What about conversion to burn oil? Or does that wreck the historical designation, too?

[JB]

According to comments on a Facebook post, all usable parts on the Spartan were harvested and stored in a warehouse some years ago, so it's really just a hull now.

Could they convert it to a barge like PM41? Maybe. Depends on what kind of shape the hull is in.

As for the prospect of repowering the Badger: its status as a National Historic Landmark requires government approval for any significant modifications to the boat, including repowering. That is likely going to be a factor in whether or not they repower her, and if they do, what kind of engines they'll be able to use.

I don't see any major changes to the Badger happening anytime soon.

[Mr Link]

Get ready for it, but ISS will look at the operating costs, as any good company will, and see that maintaining the old coal fired boilers, manning the steam plant, and fuel efficiency, plus exhaust pollution, will be key l to diesel conversion with a unmanned engine room. Eliminating half of the labor costs of manning the engine room will be key. But in the long run, the boat will be sustainable to operate well into the future. It has proven successful with all the diesel conversions in the ISS fleet. Sorry to upset the purists'.

Perhaps Interlake will get into LNG fuel after all. Not that I want to see steam go, but replacing the steam plant on the Badger with duel fuel internal combustion engines and finding a LNG supplier on either side of the lake might make economic sense. BC Ferries, Seaspan and the province of Quebec are all currently operating diesel/LNG-fueled ferries. And there may be government incentives to help pay for it all.

[Guest]

Could they barge the Spartan and make another barge similar to the PM41?

I know that they were still using parts off of it in 2016 for the Badger. I helped disassemble a steam powered air compressor for parts, that we used to rebuild the one on the Badger.

[Guest]

Is there even anything useful left in the Spartan that could be used in the Badger? Perhaps she's just a bare shell? The Spartan last operated in 1979 I believe.

It seems to me the Spartan could be easily rebuilt into a barge as the hull is still likely to be in good shape but that would of course depend on a dry docking survey and who knows what could be found after 40 years of inactivity? After all these years, I'm inclined to believe that little of value would remain on the Spartan. Wasn't one of the problems with these ships were their Unaflow engines? I thought I heard one time that these engines had very little interchangeability but I may be wrong in that assumption.

As for the Badger, if Interlake intends to continue the ferry service across Lake Michigan it seems that perhaps a repowering could be in the future as the company has shown its willingness to invest in older vessels. If I recall correctly, the coal ash solution was only a temporary fix and not a permanent solution to the problem. If that is so, then any reasonable expectation of continued operation as a powered vessel into the extended future will most likely involve some type of repowering. From my personal opinion, the future of the Badger seems more secure today than it may have been in the past. Would the Badger need to be reclassed to work on the East Coast if that becomes an option? From everything I have read and from the times I have travelled aboard it seems like a very stout vessel. However, since it was constructed for Great Lakes service does its design have any characteristics that would prevent service off the lakes?

Didn't Interlake report that they were to bring a barge off the East Coast for work on the lakes a few years ago? I don't recall if that ever happened or not.

In a recent news article, Mark Barker talked about how the new ship being built at Sturgeon Bay being able to handle cargoes such as heavy machinery and wind turbines. Could this purchase play a role in such new trades for the company?

It seems that Interlake is looking past the coal shipping era on the lakes and will be entering new fields of endeavor. Regardless, this is a surprising acquisition and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[guest]

Get ready for it, but ISS will look at the operating costs, as any good company will, and see that maintaining the old coal fired boilers, manning the steam plant, and fuel efficiency, plus exhaust pollution, will be key l to diesel conversion with a unmanned engine room. Eliminating half of the labor costs of manning the engine room will be key. But in the long run, the boat will be sustainable to operate well into the future. It has proven successful with all the diesel conversions in the ISS fleet. Sorry to upset the purists'.

[Guest]

Is there even anything useful left in the Spartan that could be used in the Badger? Perhaps she's just a bare shell? The Spartan last operated in 1979 I believe.

[Guest]

I'm pretty sure that the Spartan is going to the scrap yard once steel prices increase. There is so much wrong with her and shes been stripped for about 20 years.

I'm pretty sure that if you intend to operate the Badger, the "Spartan Store" holds value as a source of spare parts.

[Jared]

I'm pretty sure that the Spartan is going to the scrap yard once steel prices increase. There is so much wrong with her and shes been stripped for about 20 years.

[Guest]

Does there need to be a lot of speculation? There is an informative press release on Interlake’s website today: http://www.interlake-steamship.com/medi ... t-acquisit

Interlake has identified that they want to serve more diverse customers in smaller ports. Those priorities are clearly illustrated in some of the capabilities they outlined for their new construction MV Mark Barker. He PM41 fits nicely into this strategy with its ability to accomplish both goals. The Badger is a little more unique, but as the press release mentions, the Barker/Tregurtha families have interests in ferry operations in the east coasts. Will the Badger sport a hull coat of of oxide red? Probably not. But I do wonder what the possibilities are for the Spartan in the future. LMc suffered financially after the embezzlement scandal recently and Covid no doubt really hit their bottom line. Interlake’s management seems to know and respect all aspects of the shipping industry, and I feel they would be a good fit to take on the heritage and future of the car ferry operation.

I’m excited to see what the future holds!

[clarkjol]

Yep, Interlake bought not only the Lake Michigan Carferry, but also the Undaunted / Pere Marquette as well. A subsidiary of Interlake already owns a ferry company in New York City and that's where the Badger fits in. The Undaunted / Pere Marquette is also going to be put into an Interlake subsidiary and continue business as usual.

[MilwBob]

Lake Michigan Carferry has been sold to Interlake. The sale includes Pete Marquette Shipping which ran the barge PM41.

Let the speculation begin....