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Detroit River.	Mike Nicholls

Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature -- Sam Laud

By Jody Aho

The Sam Laud has been a dependable workhorse in the American Steamship Company fleet. The vessel was built in 1975--a slack year for shipbuilding on the Great Lakes--by the Bay Shipbuilding Corporation of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. At a time when several Great Lakes fleets, including American Steamship Company, were preparing plans to build thousand-footers to update their fleets, the Laud was the first of three vessels to enter service for ASC between 1975 and 1981 with the smaller ports in mind.

The Sam Laud began her maiden voyage on April 29, 1975. The vessel measures 634 feet 10 inches long, 68 feet wide, and 40 feet deep, giving her a capacity of approximately 23,800 tons. The vessel has the capacity to be competitive in many different trades, yet her size allows her to maneuver in many of the smallest ports. The vessel uses twin Diesel engines totaling 7200 horsepower, giving her average operating speed yet ease in maneuverability at any dock.

The vessel has spent her career engaged in trade between ports on all of the Great Lakes, but she spends most of her time on Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Erie, as well as in various ports in between and on Saginaw Bay.

Overall dimensions
Length	634'11"
Beam	68'00"
Depth	40'00"
Capacity (tons)	23,800
Diesel engines bph	7,200
Self-unloading boom	251'6"

Saginaw River. J. Piechowiak	Erie, Pa. Jeff Thoreson	Passing fleet mate American Mariner. Mike Nicholls
Unloading. Jeff Thoreson	Saginaw River. Todd Shorkey	Close up. Jeff Thoreson
Wave from the pilot house.  Mike Nicholls	Unloading in Saginaw. Todd Shorkey	Stewart J. Cort off loads onto the Sam Laud (Joe Bigane fuel boat to the right of the Cort). Gary Clarke