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 auto 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]

Gallery

• 
  Terminal in Milwaukee Harbor
• 
  En route to Muskegon, Milwaukee fades away at the horizon
• 
  Lake express visible from airplane
• 
  John Kerry and Teresa Heinz on the Lake express during the 2004 presidential campaign

See also

• SS Milwaukee Clipper, an earlier ferry that sailed the same Milwaukee-to-Muskegon route
• SS Badger, another ferry on a more northern route across Lake Michigan