On November 29, 2005 Oglebay Norton Marine Services announced the sale of the Buckeye to Buckeye Holdings LLC (an affiliate of K&K Warehousing, Inc., Menominee, Michigan) for $4 million for conversion to a notched, articulated barge. The Buckeye arrived at Erie Shipbuilding (Erie, Pennsylvania), under tow of tug Olive L. Moore on December 4, 2005. She entered the graving dock in late February, 2006. The conversion was completed in August 2006, with the stern accommodations, engine room, forward accommodations and wheelhouse all removed. The new barge was renamed Lewis J. Kuber and was paired with the tug Olive L. Moore.
In February 2011, the barge was acquired by Rand Logistics and the vessel is operated by Grand River Navigation.
The Lewis J. Kuber was renamed Menominee, in May 2017 (named for a Michigan town in the western Upper Peninsula). |