HSC Lake Express

Lake Express is a high-speed auto and passenger ferry that is in service on a route across Lake Michigan. Lake Express links the cities of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Muskegon, Michigan, from late spring to the fall of each year.

Lake Express at Muskegon
History
Name: 2004 onwards: Lake Express
Operator: 2004 onwards: Lake Express
Port of registry: 2004 onwards: 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:
  • 248 passengers
  • 44 cars & 12 motorcycles[1]

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,[1] and began service on June 1, 2004.[2] It was one of the first high-speed catamaran-style auto/passenger ferries built in the United States. It was also the first high-speed car ferry to see service on the Great Lakes, beating out 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.[3]

See also
  • SS Badger, another ferry on a more northern route across Lake Michigan

References
  1. Austal. "Austal Launches largest Vessel to date" (Press release). Austal. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  2. Mulherin, Brian (June 2, 2004). "Fast, Quiet, But Not So Smooth: Lake Express Rolls into Service with Excitement". Ludington Daily News. pp. A1–A2 – via Google News.
  3. Sandler, Larry (August 21, 2005). "Ferry Rescues Boater from Lake". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. pp. 1B–2B – via Google News.
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