HSC Lake Express
 Lake Express at Muskegon | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | 2004 onwards: Lake Express |
| Operator | Lake Express |
| Port of registry | Milwaukee  |
| Route | Milwaukee - Muskegon |
| Builder | Austal USA, Mobile |
| Yard number | US 614 |
| Identification | IMO number: 9329253 |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 1,757 GT |
| Length | 191 ft 7 in (58.40 m)[1] |
| Beam | 57 ft 9 in (17.60 m)[1] |
| Draught | 8 ft 2 in (2.50 m) [1] |
| Installed power | 4 × MTU 16V 4000 M70 diesel engines[1] |
| Propulsion | 4 × Kamewa waterjets[1] |
| Speed | 34 kn (39 mph; 63 km/h)[1] |
| Capacity |
|
Lake Express is a high-speed auto and passenger ferry that operates across Lake Michigan linking the cities of Milwaukee, and Muskegon from late spring to the fall of each year.
Background
The ship travels at a top speed of 34 knots (39 mph; 63 km/h)[1] and makes the 68-nautical-mile (78 mi; 126 km) trip three times daily from each side of the lake during the peak of its operational schedule. Lake Express is able to cross the lake in two and a half hours. It was constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama entering service on June 1, 2004.[1][2][3]
It was one of the first high-speed catamaran-style auto/passenger ferries built in the United States. It was the first high-speed auto ferry to see service on the Great Lakes, beating the Spirit of Ontario I, which was beset by a series of last-minute delays, by one month.
On August 21, 2005, the ferry rescued a man whose boat had capsized in the middle of Lake Michigan.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Austal. "Austal Launches largest Vessel to date" (Press release). Austal. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
- ↑ Mulherin, Brian (June 2, 2004). "Fast, Quiet, But Not So Smooth: Lake Express Rolls into Service with Excitement". Ludington Daily News. pp. A1–A2.
- ↑ Small Ships of 2004. Royal Institution of Naval Architects. 2005. p. 27. ISBN 1 905040 07 5.
- ↑ Sandler, Larry (August 21, 2005). "Ferry Rescues Boater from Lake". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. pp. 1B–2B.
External links
Media related to Lake Express (ship, 2004) at Wikimedia Commons