Cleaner SS Badger set to sail Lake Michigan

LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) — A coal-fired passenger ferry is set to return to service on Lake Michigan after undergoing a makeover to meet terms of a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Ludington Daily News reports the SS Badger is expected to sail Friday from Ludington, Mich. to Manitowoc, Wis. It’ll have a new ash retention system as part of a requirement to stop discharging ash into Lake Michigan.

Improvements made to the ship by its operator, Lake Michigan Carferry, have cost an estimated $2.4 million over the last two years.

The 410-foot ferry launched in 1952 and can carry 600 passengers and 180 vehicles. It’s the last coal-fired steamship operating on the Great Lakes.