Arthur M. Anderson

Arthur M. Anderson was built in 1952, is 767 feet long and flies a U.S. flag

Info
The Arthur M. Anderson was built by the American Ship Building Company in 1952 at Lorain. She is one of eight AAA class boats built in the early 50’s and one of three built for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company. The other two were the Philip R. Clarke and the Cason J. Callaway. The Anderson is 767 feet long with 23 hatches opening into 5 cargo holds. She was lengthened by 120 feet at Fraser Shipyards in Superior in 1975. A 250-foot self-unloading boom was installed in 1982, making her capable of discharging cargo at a rate of 6,700 tons per hour without using equipment from the shore. A bow thruster was installed in 1966, and a stern thruster in 1989. She has a 7,700 hp steam turbine engine.She was named for Arthur M. Anderson, a director of U.S. Steel in 1952 and vice-chairman of the J.P. Morgan Company. Mr. Anderson died in 1966.

Captain Bernie Cooper successfully led her through the storm that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald near Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior in November, 1975. The Anderson was the last vessel to have contact with the Fitzgerald.

Since 1995 through 2010, she has averaged about 11 trips to the Twin Ports each year. Lately, she has carried limestone into the port and loaded iron ore pellets, either here or in Two Harbors, for her return trip to the lower lakes, usually to ports on Lake Erie. In the shipping season for 2012-13, the Anderson made 20 visits to the port of Duluth-Superior.

The Anderson arrived Duluth for winter layup on January 15, 2017. She is currently laid up on the East side of CN Dock 6 and is not expected to sail for the 2017 shipping season.