This ship is at full steam with a great billow of black smoke coming from its twin stacks. (That pretty much uses up my nautical jargon ha ha) You can see several portholes, life rafts and the bridge. You can also see lots of chunks of ice in the water around the ship. I cannot make out a name of the ship or the flag it flies, so this is a mystery. One must assume the photographer was on another ship.
Who Were They? 
It looks like a US Flag on the back to me. That is one “grime-y” looking boat!
I suspect it is a “Great Lakes” ice breaker.
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Looks like a US Flag on the back to me too! I wonder if it is a car ferry..? Great old photo! :)
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You might be right Far Side. I found this photo – while it is not the same ship – it is similar enough to make me think that what we see here is a passenger ferry, most likely on the Great Lakes.
http://www.mhsd.org/passenger/eastland.htm
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