1890: On 25 January 1890, ALEX NIMICK (wooden propeller, 298 foot, 1,968 gross tons) was launched at W. Bay City, Michigan. She was built by J. Davidson (Hull # 30).
1908: The W.C. RICHARDSON was launched January 25, 1908, as the a.) WAINWRIGHT (Hull#175) at Wyandotte, Michigan, by the Detroit Ship Building Co.
1923: JOSHUA A. HATFIELD (Hull#782) was launched January 25, 1923, at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co.
1964: MAX MANUS dated from 1937 and appeared on the Great Lakes for one trip in 1959. An engine room explosion and fire at Ibiza, Spain, as c) FLORA N. took the lives of three crew and extensively damaged the midships area of the vessel. The freighter had been discharging cement but was towed out of the port and beached three miles south as a total loss.
1981: MANUEL CAMPOS first came through the Seaway when new in 1968. It sank off Crete on this date as c) DENIZ SOMNEZ after developing a severe list in heavy seas. The vessel was traveling from Sfax, Tunisia, to Mersin, Turkey, with a cargo of phosphate ore and all 34 on board were lost.
1988: On January 25, 1988, the tanker L’ORME NO 1 was involved in an accident at Ultramar Refinery near Quebec City when attempting to tie up during foggy weather. She struck the dock and the impact started a fire that extensively damaged the wharf and the forward section of the ship.
1988: Scrapping on E. J. BLOCK began at Port Colborne, Ontario, on January 25, 1988.
1992: NORDSTERN came through the Seaway in 1968 and returned as b) GEORG RUSS in 1975 and c) CAPTAIN VENIAMIS in 1984. It was beached on the South Korean coast on this date after the hull began to flood during heavy weather on a long voyage from Europe to Yantai, China. The vessel was refloated on February 1 but was declared a total loss, sold to Chinese shipbreakers and arrived at Qinhuangdao under tow for scrapping on March 1, 1992.
2003: An arson fire aboard LA GRANDE HERMINE, a replica sailing ship, at Jordan Harbour, Ontario, destroyed the wooden superstructure and interior of the idle ship. The vessel was built in 1914 as a ferry across the St. Lawrence and had several subsequent uses under a variety of names. The listing and burned out hull became a tourist attraction with many passers-by stopping to take photos. Its remains were finally removed in late 2021..
Data from: Skip, Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series.