1873
1873: At noon on 6 March 1873, the steam railroad carferry SAGINAW was launched at the Port Huron Dry Dock Co. She did not get off the ways at first and had to be hauled off by the tug KATE MOFFAT. She was built for use between Port Huron and Sarnia.
1892
1892: On 6 March 1892, SAGINAW (wooden 4-car propeller carferry, 142 foot, 365 tons, built in 1873, at Port Huron, Michigan) burned at the dock in Windsor, Ontario where she had been laid up since 1884. The hull was later recovered and converted to an odd-looking tug, a well-known wrecker in the Detroit River area until broken up about 1940.
1901
1901: SAKIE SHEPHERD [Built-1883 US-115935 by John F Squires at Huron, Ohio. Renamed: METROPOLE 1901 US-115935] First enrollment issued at Sandusky, OH, June 30, 1883. Enrollment surrendered at Detroit, MI, March 23, 1899, and endorsed \”abandoned.\” Redocumented at Detroit, MI, October 9, 1900. Name changed at Detroit, MI, March 6, 1901. Vessel listed as \”SAKIR SHEPHERD\” on some enrollments. As METROPOLE leak developed when stern pipe or bearings loosened, August 8, 1903, and vessel sank about ten miles off Port Austin, MI, Saginaw Bay; crew rowed ashore in small boat. Vessel was bound for Cleveland with staves at time of loss. Final document surrendered at Detroit, MI, August 12, 1903.
1909
1909: EUGENE J. BUFFINGTON (Hull#366) was launched March 6, 1909, at Lorain, Ohio by American Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. She lasted until 1980, when she was towed to San Esteban de Pravia, Spain, for scrapping.
1912
1912: 0133 [Built-1893 US-53280 by American Steel Barge, Co at Superior, Wisconsin. Renamed: SEARSPORT 1913 US-53280] Rebuilt by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, MI, in 1911. (261 x 36 x 22; 1159 gross – 1115 net. Foundered one mile south of Fire Island, NY, on November 12, 1911, with all hands. Five lives lost. Final document surrendered at Newport News, VA, on March 6, 1912.
1916
1916: CORA A [Built-1889 US-126556 by Burger and Burger at Manitowoc, Wisconsin] First enrolled at Chicago IL, July 22, 1889. Foundered on March 6, 1916. No lives were lost
1917
1917: MACKINAW [Built-1890 US-92226 by F.W. Wheeler & Co. at West Bay City, Michigan. Renamed: SAWA MARU 1916-Japan] Cut in two sections by Union Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, NY, in 1890, after departing Bay City, MI, on October 4, 1890. Towed through canals and rejoined at Montreal, P.Q. torpedoed and sunk by German submarine off southwest coast of Ireland on March 6, 1917
1920
1920: BYRON WHITAKER [Built-1890 US-3477 by William Dulac at Mount Clemens, Michigan. Renamed: BYRON WHITAKER 1913 C-134145 and MARIAN W. 1917 C-134145] First enrollment issued at Detroit, MI, July 26, 1890. Measures change, Detroit, MI, April 7, 1903 (220 x 38 x 23.33; 1586 gross – 1388 net). Canadian measures, 1913 (220 x 38 x 21; 1539 gross – 959 registered. Burned to a total loss in Louise Basin, Quebec City, P.Q., on March 6, 1920.
1924
1924: S.M. FISCHER [Built-1896 US-116717 by Craig Shipbuilding Co.] Requisitioned by U.S. Army in September, 1917. Transferred to French Government on July 25, 1919. Final enrollment, issued at Port Huron, MI, was surrendered at New York, NY, on March 6, 1924. Sold to French Government while on service in France. Ultimate disposition unknown.
1982
1982: LOUIS B. ST. LAURENT [BUILT-1969 C-328095 by Canadian Vickers LTD at Montreal, Canada] Built as Arctic-patrol ice breaker.As ST. LAURENT: An electrical malfunction in the control panel of the Canadian ice breaker injured seven men on March 6, 1982. The vessel was clearing a channel in the Cabot Strait, about twenty miles from Sydney, Nova Scotia. The fire heavily damaged the officers’ quarters and bridge.
1982
1982: INDIANA was chartered to Swedish interests when it made four trips to the Great Lakes in 1962. It was sailing as d) ZOE II, under Liberian registry, when it was abandoned in the Adriatic Sea, south of Pula, Yugoslavia, (now Croatia) after a severe list had developed while on a voyage from Koper, Yugoslavia, (now Slovenia) to Ancona, Italy, on March 6, 1982. No further trace of the ship was ever found.
1984
1984: NORMAN B. MACPHERSON [Built-1925 C-148846 by Napler & Miller LTD at Old Kilpatrick, Scotland. Renamed: LOADMASTER 1959 C-148846 and ILE D’ORLEANS 1971 C-148846] Change of dimensions, 1947 (253 x 43.25 x 17.75). Converted to hopper dredge barge, 1959 (1756 gross – 1103 registered). Repowered with auxiliary outboards, 1967. Rebuilt at Whitby, Ont., by McNamara Construction Co., Ltd., summer, 1971. Delivered to shipbreakers and in course of demolition at Sorel, P.Q., in April, 1980. Registry closed March 6, 1984, \”demolished.\”
Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Father Dowling Collection, “Ahoy & Farewell II” and the “Great Lakes Ships We Remember” series.
