1896

The first steel carferry, PERE MARQUETTE, was launched in nearly completed form. The ship was built for the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (predecessor to the Pere Marquette) and entered service just a few weeks later.

1926

GEORGE M. HUMPHREY (Hull#796) for Kinsman Transit Co. at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. Renamed b.) CAPT JOHN ROEN in 1945, c.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1948 and d.) CONSUMERS POWER in 1958, scrapped at Taiwan in 1988.

1984

VISHVA DHARMA came through the Seaway when new in 1970. The vessel was in a collision on this date with the ADMIRAL S. ALTINCAN and sustained damage to the forecastle and sides. The ship reached Istanbul, Turkey, enroute to Russia on January 7, 1982. The damage was repaired and it survived until scrapping at Bombay, India, in 1988.

1987

The THOMAS WILSON, under tow in the North Atlantic heading to be scrapped, parted her towline and sank near position 34.08’N by 61.35’12″W (approximately in line with Cape Hatteras, North Carolina) early the next day.

Contributors & Sources

Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.

Compiled & Maintained by Roger LeLievre