J. L. Mauthe

The SS J.L. Mauthe is one of the eight AAA class American ships, originally built with a length of 647 ft (197.2 m) in the 1950s.[4] Seven of the eight AAA class vessels, including the J.L. Mauthe, are still operational today, making the AAA class one of the most successful designs on the Great Lakes.[4]

By 1979, all the ships in the AAA class, except for the SS J.L. Mauthe and the SS William Clay Ford, had been converted into self unloaders,[5] and by the early 1980s, the J.L. Mauthe was being used to transport large quantities of grain.[5]

In 1992, SS J.L. Mauthe avoided collision when the SS Cason J. Callaway cut in front of SS J.L. Mauthe to arrive at the Shell fuel dock first.[6] Having sustained damage and wear through the progression of years, the vessel fell behind other AAA class ships[3] and was put into layup in 1993.

Barge SS Pathfinder and tug Dorothy Ann enter the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1997-1998, the Interlake Steamship Company converted the SS J.L. Mauthe into a self-unloading barge, and renamed to the vessel SS Pathfinder in 1998.[5]

Pathfinder was coupled with the pusher tug MT Joyce L. VanEnkevort from 1998 to 1999,[7] until the Interlake Steamship Company built their new Z-drive tug, called the MT Dorothy Ann, which has sailed with Pathfinder as a tug-barge unit.[2]