Alpena

Identity & particulars

Name

Alpena

IMO numberWhat is an IMO number?

5206362

MMSIWhat is an MMSI?

366893910

Call signWhat is a call sign?

WAV4647

Flag

United States

Vessel type

Cargo ship

AIS ship type

Cargo

Gross tonnageGross tonnage vs deadweight

8,018

Length overall

153 m

Beam

20 m

Year built

1942

A tag next to a value names the register that supplied it (hover or tap it for the record and date). Values without a tag come from the ship's own AIS broadcasts or from Wikidata. Position and identity are derived live from AIS.

Timeline

Dated events for this ship from every source Voydar holds, newest first. Each line names its source; derived items say how they were derived.

Owner, operator and manager changes found by comparing yearly EU MRV reports are dated to the reporting year ("during 2025"), not to a day. Port calls here are the most recent only; the full lists are further down.

Former and other names

Names attested for this ship other than its current name.

A sanctions list's date is the earliest date the list shows the name, not when the ship took it. A name on a list is shown as a former name only where AIS shows the ship using another name after that date; otherwise it is listed as a name the list uses. AIS name changes are dated when Voydar saw them.

Incidents & investigations Authority-reported

Accident and incident reports by national investigation boards, and casualty warnings, that concern this ship. Each links to the original.

• Occurred Dec 12, 2015ACC · Cargo, Dry BulkNTSB marine investigations (CAROL)Sturgeon Bay, WI, USA

  Alpena, Sturgeon Bay, WI, USA (NTSB DCA16FM012)Report published Oct 26, 2015

  The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the fire aboard the Alpena was a fault in the electrical wiring providing power to the aft anchor winch.

Port calls

Two kinds of evidence, kept apart: calls Voydar detected from the ship's AIS positions, and arrivals and departures published by port authorities and customs records.

About Alpena

SS Alpena (formerly SS Leon Fraser) is a lake freighter. She was built in 1942 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, Michigan, to carry iron ore. She was originally owned by the Pittsburgh Steamship Company, a subsidiary of United States Steel. After also hauling grain in addition to ore in the 1960s and 1970s, the ship was put into storage in 1982. In 1989, the ship was purchased by Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin, which shortened her by 120 feet (37 m) and converted her into a self-unloading cement carrier. In 1990, the ship was purchased by New Management Enterprises and renamed the SS Alpena, which uses her to transport cement between Alpena, Michigan, and other Great Lakes cement ports. By 2015, she was the oldest active steamship on the Great Lakes.

Summary from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Alpena now?

Alpena (Cargo ship, United States flag) was last seen on AIS on Oct 2, 2026, 11:45 UTC, moored, in the port of Detroit. The crew-entered destination was ALPENA (voyage report via AISstream.io global terrestrial AIS, received Oct 2, 2026, 11:53 UTC). This report does not confirm the ship’s current route.

What kind of ship is Alpena?

Alpena is a cargo ship sailing under the flag of United States, built in 1942 by Great Lakes Engineering Works. The vessel is 153 m long with a beam of 20 m and has a gross tonnage of 8,018.

What sanctions and inspection records does Voydar hold for Alpena?

Voydar has no matched sanctions record displayed for Alpena from the OFAC SDN list, the UK Sanctions List, the Canadian autonomous sanctions list, the EU list of designated vessels and the New Zealand Russia Sanctions Register. Coverage may be incomplete; this is not sanctions clearance. No matched inspection records are displayed for Alpena. Missing records do not establish whether the ship has been detained.