Identification & Build Details

  • Name: Cartierdoc
  • Official Number: 149455
  • Year Built: 1928
  • Shipyard: Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend, England
  • Type: Steel lake bulk freighter
  • Initial Dimensions/Tonnage: 253 ft × 43 ft × ~18 ft Draft, 1,919 gross tons
  • Propulsion: Single-screw steam engine

Major Rebuild

  • Winter 1948–49: Hull deepened by 4 ft in Montreal, enhancing capacity to 2,209 gross tons
  • Post-Rebuild registration: Maintained Official No. 149455

Ownership & Service History

  • Owned by N. M. Paterson & Sons, Ltd. from launch onward
  • Rebuilt in Montreal, then continued to serve as a cargo freighter through the 1950s and early 1960s
  • Converted to a Barge named Point Edward in 1962

Final Disposition: Scuttled as Breakwater

  • Date: 1967
  • Location: Deliberately sunk in Lake Michigan to form part of a Breakwater structure at a construction site
  • Aftermath: Hull remained in place until it was dismantled/cut up around 1970
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Sources & Corroboration

Historical Summary

The Cartierdoc served nearly four decades under N. M. Paterson before being repurposed in the early 1960s as the Barge Point Edward. Her deliberate sinking in Lake Michigan in 1967 for Breakwater use typifies mid-20th-century vessel disposal strategies. The remains were cut up by around 1970, indicating she served her final purpose for roughly three years in situ.

Next Research Steps

  • Locate company records from N. M. Paterson & Sons detailing Barge Conversion and sale for Breakwater use.
  • Investigate U.S. Corps of Engineers or local municipal archives for procurement and sinking contracts (1967).
  • Explore satellite imagery or marine charts from the 1960s/70s to pinpoint likely Breakwater locations.