The last coal-fired steamship in the US is in Lake Michigan. Look inside. | Bridge Michigan

Oct 25, 2024

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LUDINGTON — The SS Badger steamship has shuttled people, vehicles and freight across Lake Michigan for longer than most of the state’s residents have been alive.

As the last coal-fired passenger steamship in the nation, the 72-year-old ship is a national historic landmark and a celebrated link to the heyday of Great Lakes shipping.

It’s also a frequent source of controversy over the pollution that emanates from its smokestack.

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As Bridge Michigan reported today, the Badger may soon undergo a transformation: Its owners are considering swapping out the coal-fired propulsion system with a cleaner alternative.

The goal, if money allows, is to preserve the ship’s historical significance while making it a trailblazer of the clean-energy future.

Our reporting offered a rare opportunity to tour the ship, from its sunny open decks to its dark, sweltering boiler room. Here’s a sampling of photographs taken by Bridge’s Asha Lewis:

Passengers on the SS Badger gaze toward the receding shoreline of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, as the ship sets sail toward Ludington. The 410-foot vessel takes four hours to cross the lake, cruising at a speed of about 18 mph.

“Badger Bingo” is a longstanding tradition on the ship, persisting for decades even as wireless internet and other modern amenities have begun competing for passengers' attention.

On a warm, sunny day, there are few better places on earth than the open deck at the bow of a ship on the Great Lakes. SS Badger passengers were treated to such a day on July 26 as the ship cruised from Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Ludington, Michigan.

A crew member steers the SS Badger steamship.

Inside the engine room deep in the belly of the SS Badger, a series of massive pumps help power the ship’s two 3,500 horsepower steam engines.

Beto Ramirez is a fireman on the SS Badger, responsible for tending to the ship’s four coal-fired boilers. The Badger is America’s last coal-fired steamship, and its owners are considering switching to an emissions-free energy source. But cost will ultimately determine whether they move forward with the idea.

Inside the boiler room on the SS Badger, two workers maintain watch to ensure coal is burning correctly to superheat the steam that powers the ship’s massive engines. Here, Beto Ramirez tends to machinery that helps clean coal ash from inside the furnaces.

Onlookers gather to wave at the vessel.

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