SS Edward L. Ryerson is a steel-hulled American Great Lakes freighter that entered service in 1960. Built between April 1959 and January 1960 for the Inland Steel Company, she was the third of the thirteen so-called 730-class of lake freighters, each of which shared the unofficial title of "Queen of the Lakes", as a result of their record-breaking length. She was not only the last steam-powered freighter built on the lakes but also the last one that was not a self-unloader. Since 2009, she has been in long-term layup in Superior, Wisconsin. She is one of only two American-owned straight deck lake freighters, the other being John Sherwin, built in 1958.
Edward L. Ryerson in 2007
Edward L. Ryerson being fitted out
Edward L. Ryerson on her first record setting trip
Edward L. Ryerson laid up in the Tower Slip
Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the engine located at the rear of the ship.
SS Arthur M. Anderson, with pilothouse forward and engine room astern, also equipped with a self-unloading boom.
R. J. Hackett, the first modern Great Lakes bulk freighter
Whaleback Joseph L. Colby
Cason J. Callaway laid up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. (2021)