1909
The PERE MARQUETTE 17 was freed after her grounding the previous December.
1918
The Goodrich Line’s ALABAMA and the Grand Trunk ferries MILWAUKEE and GRAND HAVEN all became stuck in the ice off Grand Haven, Michigan. The vessels remained imprisoned in the ice for the next two weeks. When the wind changed, they were freed but Grand Haven’s harbor was still inaccessible. The ALABAMA sailed for Muskegon and stalled in the 18-inch thick ice on Muskegon Lake.
1970
The lower engine room and holds of the SEWELL AVERY accidentally flooded, sinking her to the bottom of Duluth Harbor causing minimal damage (other than an immense cleanup effort).
1974
After lightering 3,000 tons of coal, the a.) BENSON FORD was refloated in 1974 and proceeded to the Toledo Overseas Terminal to be reloaded.
1979
The US Coast Guard tug ARUNDEL was beset by windrowed ice at Minneapolis Shoal in Green Bay. h3 winds piled the ice on her stern and soon she had a 25-degree list. The crew feared that she may sink and abandoned the tug, walking across the ice with the help of a spotlight onboard the ACACIA, which also became beset by the heavy ice. The MACKINAW, SUNDEW and a Coast Guard helicopter were dispatched to the scene, but northwest winds relieved the ice pressure and the crew was able to re-board the ARUNDEL. The ARUNDEL sails today as the tug c.) ERIKA KOBASIC.
1997
A Series of errors, some apparently made during hull modifications two years ago, have been cited as causes for the December 2 dockside sinking of the NOAA research vessel HALCYON in Muskegon Harbor. An investigation of the incident revealed that zinc plates installed two years ago in Halcyon’s catamaran-type hull to control corrosion were installed improperly and allowed water to seep into the vessel’s two pontoons. That made Halcyon sit lower in the water. Then, during the winterizing process in late November, crews pumped water out of the four front ballast tanks, left several heavy drums of antifreeze and lubricants sitting on her aft section and failed to properly replace the covers on two deactivated bilge pumps in the aft part of the hull. All this steadily sunk the stern lower until water rushed in at a rate too fast to be controlled and the vessel sank. Halcyon was eventually rasied by three crains, costing about $200,000. At last report NOAA was still weighing whether to repair the 10-year old vessel or scrap her.
2005
GENESIS EXPLORER (steel propeller tanker, 435 foot, built in 1974, at Port Weller, Ontario, formerly a.) IMPERIAL ST. CLAIR & b.) ALGOSAR) sailed from Halifax for Quebec City. She was registered in the Comoros Islands. She was carrying a few members of her former crew for training purposes, but her new crew was African.
Contributors & Sources
Joe Barr, Max Hanley, Brian Bernard, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
Compiled & Maintained by Roger LeLievre
