Ships · Great Lakes / Seaway

Algoma Bear: grain, holds & the big boom

Watch Algoma Bear loading grain from shoreside silos, then explore her five cargo holds, fourteen hatches and separate self-unloading conveyor system.

Watch grain loading ↓Photos & clips ↓

Algoma Bear alongside silos with her unloading boom visible

Algoma Bear — a ship with its own unloading system

Algoma Bear is a Canadian-flagged, Seaway-max self-unloading bulk carrier, owned and operated by Algoma Central Corporation and built in 2024. The long blue hull is a travelling storehouse for loose dry cargo, not containers. Her permanent identifier is IMO 9619309.

Here Algoma Bear is loading grain from shoreside silos at a Great Lakes mill. The featured video shows grain entering an open cargo hold; the ship’s large boom is a separate system used to unload cargo.

The big boom is real — it is her discharge conveyor. The featured video shows loading: shore → ship. A shoreside loading spout fills a cargo hold, while the ship’s own boom conveyor is designed for discharging cargo later.

Official site · Algoma · AIS tracking · VesselFinder

At a glance

225.54 mLength overall

23.77 mBeam

2024Built / delivered

5 holds14 deck hatches

36,124 m³Total holds and hatches · self-trim 30°

81.70 mSelf-unloading boom

29,749 tCargo deadweight at 8.077 m Seaway draft

5,450 t/hDesigned maximum discharge rate

Algoma’s April 2024 specification sheet lists 35,840 t cargo deadweight at midsummer draft, versus 29,749 t at the shallower Seaway draft, assuming about 610 t of consumables. These are not interchangeable capacities or a claim about this voyage’s load.

Inside the long hull

The storage compartments are called cargo holds. Algoma Bear has five, separated along the hull. Fourteen covered openings — hatches — provide access from the weather deck. There are more hatches than holds: a hatch is an opening, not a separate compartment.

Hold 1Hold 2Hold 3Hold 4Hold 5

Simplified hold sequence, not a deck plan. The holds and the equipment below them are not visible in the photos.

Loading grain: shore → ship

The featured video shows grain being loaded from the shoreside silos through a loading spout into an open hold. In this kind of operation, the spout position and loading sequence distribute the weight. The crew monitors trim, stability and structural limits. Hatches are secured for the voyage. The ship’s unloading boom is not normally the equipment that fills her holds.

Discharging: ship → shore

Algoma’s sheet describes a two-belt gravity system with a loop-belt elevator. Gates beneath the cargo let material feed onto the tunnel belts. The elevator lifts it to deck level, then the long boom carries it over the side to a receiving point ashore. The boom can slew to either side and rise to suit the receiving arrangement.

1 · Hold gatesMeter the loose cargo onto belts below.

2 · Tunnel beltsMove it along the bottom of the ship.

3 · Loop elevatorRaises it to the deck conveyor.

4 · BoomDelivers it outboard to a shore receiver.

That is what self-unloading means: the discharge machinery travels with the ship. This sighting shows the opposite flow: shoreside equipment loading grain into the holds, not the ship’s boom discharging it ashore.

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Algoma Bear

A dedicated vertical Short will go here. For now, explore the photos and silent clips below — this is a placeholder, not a playable video.

Alongside the silos

Algoma Bear alongside shoreside silos, with the long boom above the deck.

A closer look at the boom and aft accommodation.

Bow-on view alongside the grain-handling facility.

The stern and aft deck from the waterside.

Bow and shoreside handling equipment in the same frame.

A wider view of the ship and the conveyor structure.

Grain loading & alongside clips

Watch the loading operation, then compare it with the ship’s separate self-unloading boom. The featured video plays only when you choose it.

**Grain loading — full video**Grain from the shoreside silos is being loaded into Algoma Bear’s open cargo hold. Full clip with original sound; click to play.
Open video file ↗

Short silent views

Short, silent web loops. They load near the screen and pause out of view. Use the controls to pause or expand; reduced-motion settings are respected.

Algoma Bear alongside: aft accommodation, deck and boom.

Algoma Bear: stern name and unloading gear. The featured video above shows the grain-loading operation.

Sources

Algoma — Algoma Bear — build year, operator fleet and Seaway-max classification.
Algoma — Algoma Bear specification sheet (PDF) — dimensions, hold/hatch capacities and self-unloading system.
Deltamarin — Algoma Bear — shipowner, design and IMO number.
CSL — Self-unloaders — general explanation of self-unloading bulk carriers.

Public specifications checked November 6, 2026. Capacities depend on draft and loading conditions. Not affiliated with the operators.