1000-Footers Page - Great Lakes Ship Photos

The first 1000-foot-long ship built for Great Lakes service was Bethlehem Steel's Stewart J. Cort. It entered service in 1972. There were twelve more "footers" constructed over the next 9 years. Interlake's Paul R. Tregurtha was the last of this size built for use on the Great Lakes; and is also the largest ship ever built for Great Lakes service. This page was updated on Aug. 24, 2006 with new photos to reflect the newest name changes for several of the 1000-footers: George A. Stinson became American Spirit in 2004, Columbia Star became American Century and Oglebay Norton became American Integrity in 2006.
		The 1013-foot-6-inch-long Paul R. Tregurtha is a "traditional" all-cabins-aft "footer". It was built for Interlake Steamship Co. and is the largest ship ever built for Great Lakes Service (also the last of the 1000-foot-class of Great Lakes ships). It was launched as the William J. DeLancey, and due to its size and plush accomodations, quickly earned the nick-name "Fancy" DeLancey. It was re-named Paul R. Tregurtha in 1990.
		The Stewart J. Cort was the very first 1000-foot-long ship built for the Great Lakes. The bow and stern sections were built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, while the 815-foot mid-section was built at Erie, Pennsylvania. The whole ship began service for Bethlehem Steel Co. in 1972.
		The Presque Isle is unique on the Great Lakes. It is the only 1000-foot-long tug/barge unit in service. It was built in three sections by three different shipbuilding companies: The tug was built by Halter Marine Services in New Orleans, Louisiana; the bow-section of the barge was built by DeFoe Shipbuilding in Bay City, Michigan; and the stern-section of the barge was built by Erie Marine in Erie, Pennsylvania. It entered service in 1973.

Here are the 1000-footers in the order in which they were launched:

# 1 - Stewart J. Cort 1000-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1972
# 2 - Presque Isle (tug/barge) overall 1000-ft. long x 104-ft. 7-inches wide 1972
# 3 - James R. Barker 1004-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1976
# 4 - Mesabi Miner 1004-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1977
# 5 - Walter J. McCarthy, Jr. 1000-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1977 as: Belle River (until 1990)

# 6 - American Integrity (2010 black & white paint) - Red & White Paint 1000-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1977 as: Lewis Wilson Foy (until 1991) and as Oglebay Norton from 1992 - 2006
# 7 - American Spirit 1004-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1978 as: George A. Stinson (until 2004)
# 8 - Edwin H. Gott 1004-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1978
# 9 - Indiana Harbor 1000-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1979
#10 - Burns Harbor (Black & White Paint Job 2007) - Red & White Paint Job 1000-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1980

#11 - Edgar B. Speer 1004-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1980
#12 - American Century (2009 Black & White Paint Job) - Red & White Paint 1000-ft. long x 105-ft. wide 1980 as: Columbia Star (until 2006)
#13 - Paul R. Tregurtha 1013-ft. 6-in. long x 105-ft. wide 1981 as: William J. DeLancey (until 1990)

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