Hilda Marjanne

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A straight deck bulk carrier operating on the Great Lakes, the Hilda Marjanne was commissioned by the U.S. Maritime Commission and launched on December 9th, 1943. Five years later she was sold to the Greek Cephalonian Maritime Company, and in 1960 was finally sold to the Canadian Leitch Transport.

She reached St. Catharines, Ontario on August 10th, 1961 where she underwent a refitting, to make her suitable for service on the Great Lakes, and was completed on November 2nd.

In 1975 she was one of three ships called to aid the search for survivors from the ill-fated SS Edmund Fitzgerald which had gone down; but stormy weather forced her to abandon her efforts leaving just the SS William Clay Ford and the Arthur M. Anderson to continue the search.

The Hilda Marjanne grounded itself on shallow waters twice, in Sarnia on April 10th, 1977 and then near Port Neuf on July 17th, 1979.

She was retired from service on June 13th, 1983, and stored in Hamilton, Ontario until the following year when she was cannibalized for parts, and her bow and midbody (minus the forward wheelhouse, stern accommodations, and machinery) were joined with the stern of the Coastal Package Freighter Chimo to create the new ship Canadian Ranger.