Wakeup Call for Duluth from an Infrequent Flyer

Haven’t seen these guys in awhile! I haven’t caught this ship in the Canal since April 2025, so it’s been awhile. Since the ship primarily hauls road salt, she is usually a sign that winter is around the corner! We ended up seeing a lot of her in the last few weeks, her first arrival was in Superior a week prior to this for an unusual load of iron ore from Superior BNSF 5, which she took to Hamilton ON. Following that, she loaded up salt from Goderich ON on her way back, made this arrival and unloaded at Superior Hallet 8. Refueling and departing that same evening after dark, the ship made her way up to Thunder Bay, presumably for some maintenance then returned three days later for another load of iron ore from BNSF 5. After that load she switched over to other assignments, but it was fun having a rare ship around so much for a time! We’ll see if she comes back again as winter rolls in or if she’ll vanish for awhile again! Algoma Compass was built in 1973 as the Roger M Kyes for the American Steamship Company. One of the first US ships to built with a stern pilothouse, she features the sharp prow and low freeboard of the classic lakers, and was built as an enlarged version of the “River Class” vessels just as Robert S Pierson, measuring roughly 50ft longer and 10ft wider at 679ft by 77ft. Her construction caused issues for American Steamship Company, as she increased their fleet capacity above the limit set by anti-trust laws in the US, ultimately leading to the US government forcing the company to sell off 7 vessels to rival fleets. In the 70s and 80s she grounded several times, including one particularly severe incident in the Detroit River in 1984 that required 10 tugs and another laker to free her and required months of repairs in drydock. Following the retirement of ASC’s Adam E Cornelius in 1989, the Kyes was renamed to keep the traditional name in the company. For 4 years between 1994 and 1998, the ship was chartered to Inland Steel/ Cleveland Cliffs and featured the striped paint job seen on Joseph L Block before she was returned to ASC and repainted black. Her unusual size caused issues for her throughout the 2000s and 2010s, being too large to navigate the tighter ports in the lakes but too small to effectively haul for the heavier cargo runs done by larger vessels, and she spent much of her time at the dock with little to do. In 2018 the Cornelius, Buffalo and the long out of commission American Valor were sold to Algoma Central, and reflagged to Canada. The Valor was quickly resold again to Rand Logistics (and returned to Algoma in 2026), while the other two vessels were renamed Algoma Compass and Algoma Buffalo respectively. The Compass was drydocked, repainted and reinforced for salt cargoes, which have kept her busy for the first time in decades, although she has been sidelined a few times in years expected to have mild winters, such as in 2024 when she only sailed in November and December of that year. Hope you enjoy!