Built by Collingwood Shipyards, Collingwood, ON as their hull # 206 at a reported cost of $14.5 million (CN); the keel was laid on July 16, 1973 for this Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier. She was launched July 24, 1974 and was christened at the shipyard on November 26, 1974 by Mrs. John Rhodes as the Algosoo (2) for the Algoma Central Railway, Marine Division, Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Mrs. Rhodes was the wife of The Honourable John Rhodes, Minister of Transportation and Communication for the Province of Ontario. With the Canadian Government subsidizing the new ships built at Canadian yards, the cost of the Algosoo net of subsidies was approximately $11.8 million (CN). The Algosoo and her slightly newer fleetmate Algolake are considered almost sister ships with their hull designs and machinery being very similar; the main difference being the Algolake having been built with all accommodations and wheelhouse aft. The Algosoo was the last traditional styled laker (straight-decker or self-unloader) built on the Great Lakes.
