H.R. PRESTON (wooden quarterdeck canal boat built in 1877 at Oneida Lake, New York) was carrying 250 tons of ashes from Picton, Ontario, to Oswego, New York, in tow of the tug ALANSON SUMNER along with three other canal boats when they encountered a storm on Lake Ontario. About 15 miles from Oswego, the PRESTON broke her towline and was taken alongside the SUMNER with some difficulty. About a mile out of port, she lost her hold tarps and began to sink quickly. She was cut loose from the tug, and her two crewmen were saved by the Oswego tug W.M. AVERY. Though she was lying heavily on the bottom in 50 feet of water, her wreckage came ashore near 4 Mile Point in early September.
1908
The 556-foot ELBERT H. GARY arrived to a 21-gun salute to deliver the first cargo of Minnesota ore at the new United States Steel mill in Gary, Indiana.
1918
PETER REISS and the GLENSHEE were in a collision at the #3 ore dock at Duluth. Fog and the current were blamed for the accident, with only limited damage to both ships.
1934
An explosion and fire aboard the tanker barge EN-AR-CO during fit-out at Toronto resulted in the loss of four lives. The ship was rebuilt as a coal barge and was finally scrapped at Hamilton in 1969.
1955
The tug HELENA capsized at South Chicago while taking on coal from a scow, and two sailors were lost. The vessel was refloated on July 26. It survives today as c) DANIEL McALLISTER, a museum ship on display in the Lachine Canal in Montreal.
1960
Upper Lakes Shipping Co. Ltd.’s, RED WING was christened as the first all-welded vessel to emerge from Port Weller Dry Docks.
1961
CANADOC sailed on her maiden voyage.
1968
The keel for the TEXACO CHIEF (Hull #193) was laid at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., for Texaco Canada Ltd. Renamed b.) A.G. FARQUHARSON in 1986 and c.) ALGONOVA In 1998. She was sold for further service overseas in 2007.
The former tanker ORION was operating as a sand barge when it sank in Lake Erie about 1,000 feet off the Lorain lighthouse due to choppy seas. The hull was raised by the Corps of Engineers, beached on August 2, and assumed to have been subsequently scrapped.
1985
FOTINI D.E. ran aground en route from Venezuela to a U.S. Gulf coast port and was abandoned as a total loss on July 31. She first came through the Seaway in 1976 and, in 1980, became the first overseas vessel to load grain at the port of Goderich.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
CONSTITUTION (wooden passenger-package freight side-wheeler, 141 feet, 444 tons, built in 1837 at Charleston, Ohio) struck a pier in Sandusky harbor, stove a large hole in her bow and sank. Her machinery was later recovered and installed in J.D. MORTON.
1873
The wooden steamer OSCAR TOWNSEND was launched at 14:20 at E. Fitzgerald’s yard in Port Huron. The launch went well with a few hundred spectators. She was built for use in the iron ore trade by the Lake Superior Transportation Co. Her dimensions were 210 feet overall with a 200-foot keel; 33-foot, 10-inch beam; and a 15-foot depth. She had three masts and was painted a deep green.
1915
EASTLAND rolled over and sank on her side at Chicago with the loss of 844 lives. It was the worst marine accident in Great Lakes history.
1925
WILLIAM G. MATHER left River Rouge, Michigan, on her maiden voyage for Ashtabula, Ohio, to load coal for Port Arthur/Fort William, Ontario.
1960
The idle tanker COASTAL CASCADES was being used for occasional storage when she sank at the dock at Montreal. The hull was salvaged in August and dismantled at Montreal in 1961–1962.
1970
The 226-foot Danish freighter NORDLAND SAGA was wrecked off Oman as c) ADEL of the Dubai National Shipping Corp. while en route from Bombay, India, to Dubai with a cargo of steel bars and generals. She made one trip through the Seaway in 1965.
1974
ALGOSOO (Hull #206) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
ANDY was lost en route from Pensacola, Florida, to Guayaquil, Ecuador, in the Caribbean off Isla de Providencia. The former GRAINMOTOR had left the Great Lakes in 1966 for saltwater service.
1975
ST. CLAIR (Hull #714) was launched at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. for the American Steamship Co.
1980
34 ships were delayed when the BALTIC SKOU, a 595-foot Danish-flagged freighter built in 1977, ran aground after losing power 3 miles east of the Snell Lock near Massena, New York. The ship, loaded with sunflower seeds, was headed for Montreal and the Atlantic Ocean when the grounding occurred. No injuries or pollution resulted from the accident, and the vessel did not take on any water.
BURNS HARBOR’s sea trials were conducted, during which she performed an emergency stop in 3,160 feet loaded to a depth of 25–26 feet. She was the third 1,000-footer built for Bethlehem and the tenth on the Great Lakes.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
The wooden lumber tug CYGNET, which worked on the Shiawassee and Bad Rivers and Lake Huron, was destroyed when her boiler exploded in “Blow-up Bayou” on the Shiawassee River.
1882
The wooden bulk freighter D.C. WHITNEY was launched at Langell’s shipyard in St. Clair, Michigan. Her dimensions were 229 feet by 40 feet by 15 feet, 1,090 gross tons.
1911
Efforts to beach the leaking wooden, coal-laden freighter RAPPAHANNOCK failed, and the ship sank off Jackfish Point, Lake Superior, after an unsuccessful battle with 75-mile-per-hour winds. All on board were saved.
1964
SUNNABRIS went aground while inbound at Alexandria, Egypt, on this date and was abandoned as a total loss. The hull was sold to Yugoslavian salvors and cut up for scrap where it was. The saltwater vessel, dating from 1929, made four trips through the Seaway in 1959 and returned as c) SEA FRIEND in 1961 and d) DEMOKRITOS in 1962.
1970
The bow section of the ROGER BLOUGH (Hull #900) was floated into the new American Ship Building Co. Lorain dry dock and was joined with the 421-foot stern section. The launch of the completed hull was scheduled for July 1971, but a fire broke out in the engine room on June 24, 1971, killing four yard workers and extensively damaging her Pielstick diesel engines. Extensive repairs, which included replacement of both engines, delayed the launch for nearly a year.
1983
CANADA MARQUIS was upbound at Detroit, Michigan, on her maiden voyage for Misener Holdings Ltd. She sails today as CSL’s e.) BIRCHGLEN.
A wedding was held aboard the BADGER. Chris Gebhart and Pat Sroka of Ludington were married by Rev. John Christensen.
1991
The 16-man crew of the ocean-going tug PACIFIC TIDE NO. 3 was arrested at Montreal on charges of smuggling drugs. The tug had arrived from the Philippines to tow the damaged Spanish vessel MILANOS to Spain.
YANKCANUCK (ii) went aground in the St. Marys River about 4 miles from DeTour. The ship was carrying a cargo of scrap steel for Chicago and was operating as a barge under tow of the ANGLIAN LADY. The vessel was lightered and released.
1994
GEORGE A. STINSON, downbound with a cargo of iron ore for Detroit, went aground in the St. Clair River but was refloated.
2005
Algoma Central Marine’s former ALGOCEN departed Montreal under tow of the tugs ATLANTIC OAK and ANDRE H. bound for Keasby, New Jersey. She was renamed b.) VALGOCEN and registered in Panama. She later sailed as J.W. SHELLEY and PHOENIX STAR.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Lake Huron Lore Society, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
ISLE ROYALE (wooden propeller passenger-package freight vessel, 92 feet, 92 gross tons, built in 1879) sprang a leak near Susick Island near Isle Royale on Lake Superior. She sank, but her passengers and crew made it to the island. She was owned by Cooley, Lavague & Company of Duluth. She was originally built as the barge AGNES.
1910
ZENITH CITY went aground at Au Sable Reef near Marquette due to fog. The ore-laden steamer sustained damage to 60 plates.
1916
WILLIAM A. MCGONAGLE (Hull #154) sailed light on her maiden voyage from Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse, Michigan, to Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore. Renamed b.) HENRY STEINBRENNER in 1986, she was scrapped at Port Maitland, Ontario, in 1994.
1943
The Canadian tanker BRUCE HUDSON caught fire loading high-octane gasoline at Phillips Petroleum in South Chicago. The Captain, his son, and two crewmen were killed. The ship was rebuilt and eventually scrapped at Cartagena, Colombia, by 1983 as c) WITCROIX.
1948
ROGN, a Norwegian tanker, went aground in the St. Lawrence at Toussant Island, near Iroquois, after the steering gear failed. The tugs SALVAGE PRINCE and SALVAGE QUEEN pulled the vessel free. It was in ballast and operated on charter to the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company. The ship was scrapped at Piraeus, Greece, as c) PIRAEUS III in 1981.
1965
The Canada Steamship Lines bulk carrier GEORGIAN BAY stood by the small wooden pulpwood carrier PRINCE QUEBEC on Lake Ontario. Cables were strung to the small ship, enroute to Tonawanda, New York, with a cargo of pulpwood, to help keep it afloat. PRINCE QUEBEC was later taken to La Petite Riviere, Quebec, beached and never repaired. Apparently the hull was burned by vandals in the 1970s.
1981
CONALLISON departed Windsor, Ontario, on her first trip for Johnstone Shipping Ltd.
1982
ALGOWEST sailed on her maiden voyage from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Quebec City with a 27,308-ton load of barley.
1983
PRA RIVER went aground en route from Las Palmas, Canary Islands, to Lagos, Nigeria, as c) MAYON II and was abandoned. The vessel was registered in Ghana when it came to the Great Lakes in 1963.
2000
HIAWATHA, a ferry dating from 1895, was sunk by vandals at Toronto. It operated between the mainland and a Toronto Island yacht club. The hull was refloated on July 28 and taken to Hamilton for restoration, repairs and a return to service.
2005
The salty ORLA ran aground at Kahnawake, Quebec, and the passing rum tanker JO SPIRIT made contact with her. Both vessels were damaged and repaired in Montreal.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
ALBERTA (steel propeller passenger-package freight vessel, 264 feet, 2,282 gross tons, built in 1883 at Whiteinch, Scotland, by C. Connell & Co.) collided in fog 6 miles northwest of Whitefish Point on Lake Superior with the JOHN M. OSBORNE (wooden propeller “steam barge,” 178 feet, 891 tons, built in 1882 at Marine City, Michigan). The OSBORNE had two barges in tow at the time. ALBERTA stayed in the gash until most of OSBORNE’s crew scrambled aboard, then pulled out, and the OSBORNE sank. ALBERTA sank in shallow water 3.5 miles from shore. Three or four lives were lost from the OSBORNE, one from ALBERTA in a brave rescue attempt while trying to get the crewmen off the OSBORNE. This was ALBERTA’s first year of service. She was recovered and repaired soon afterward. She was the sister of the ill-fated ALGOMA, which was lost in her first year of service. The wreck of the OSBORNE was located in 1984, 100 years after this incident.
1897
SELWYN EDDY and MARIPOSA collided head-on in dense fog off Manitou Island, Lake Superior. The damage was light, as both ships were proceeding slowly due to the conditions.
1900
The steel freighter RENSSELAER (Hull #402) was launched in Cleveland, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company.
1912
G. WATSON FRENCH, later the first ALGOWAY, was in a collision with the MATAAFA in Lake St. Clair, and the latter was heavily damaged and almost sank.
1931
The Canada Steamship Lines bulk canaller BARRIE went aground at Les Ecureuils Shoal in the St. Lawrence while en route to Quebec City.
1944
The FORT PERROT was damaged by a torpedo in the English Channel south of Hastings while providing support for the ongoing invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Europe. As c) DORION, this ship made two trips to the Great Lakes in 1959. The vessel was scrapped at Yokohama, Japan, as e) ANTONIOS S. after arriving on June 17, 1963.
1987
The ANDREW H. went aground off Cornwall Island in the St. Lawrence after experiencing steering problems. The ship, loaded with steel for Dofasco in Hamilton, was lightered by MAPLEHEATH and released on August 2. The cargo was reloaded at Valleyfield. The ship first came inland as EKTOR in 1976. It arrived at Alang, India, for scrapping as e) BLUEWEST on January 31, 1998.
1999
The SPIRIT OF ’98 went aground on a rock in the Gulf of Alaska 40 miles southeast of Juneau, forcing the passengers to abandon the ship. Flooding was checked, and the ship was released and repaired. As c) VICTORIAN EMPRESS, the ship saw passenger service on the St. Lawrence and came into the Great Lakes to Lake Ontario beginning in 1990.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
BOSTON (wooden propeller, 134 feet, 259 tons, built in 1847 at Ohio City, Ohio) was bound from Chicago for Ogdensburg, New York, with pork, corn, whiskey and produce. On Lake Ontario, about 20 miles off Oak Orchard, New York, she collided with the bark PLYMOUTH and sank in about 20 minutes. No lives were lost. The crew and passengers made it to shore in three lifeboats. The boat that the captain was in sailed 50 miles to Charlotte, New York.
1862
CONVOY (two-mast wooden schooner, 130 feet, 367 tons, built in 1855, at Buffalo, New York) was sailing downbound on a dark night on Lake Erie with 18,000 bushels of wheat when she collided with the empty bark SAM WARD and sank quickly in 12 fathoms of water. Her wreck drifted along the bottom, and during the shipping season, several vessels collided with her.
1900
The freighter PRINCETON (Hull #302) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.
1922
The wooden passenger and freight carrier CARIBOU went aground in the North Channel of Georgian Bay near Richards Landing.
1923
The wooden steamer W.J. CARTER, en route from Oswego to Cobourg with a cargo of coal, began leaking and sank in Lake Ontario 20 miles south of Point Peter. Nine crewmembers were rescued by the KEYPORT.
1929
The newly-built canaller C.H. HOUSON was in a collision with the collier WABANA off Cap au Saumon on the St. Lawrence in heavy fog. The investigation of the accident was critical of the operation of both vessels. The former served in the Misener fleet, becoming b) PAUL MANION in 1949, and was scrapped at Deseronto, Ontario, in 1961.
1943
The JOHN T. HUTCHINSON was delivered to the Buckeye Steamship Co. (Hutchinson & Co., manager) of Cleveland, Ohio. The HUTCHINSON was part of a government program designed to upgrade and increase the capacity of the U.S. Great Lakes fleet during World War II. In order to help finance the building of new ships, the U.S.M.C. authorized a program that would allow existing fleets to obtain new boats by trading in their older boats to the Government for credit. The vessel was the ninth Maritimer and fourth of the six L6-S-A1 types delivered. “L6” meant the vessel was built for the Great Lakes and was 600 to 699 feet in length. The “S” stood for steam power, and “A1” identified specific design features.
1949
NORMAN J. KOPMEIER was holed by an underwater obstruction entering Muskegon with a cargo of coal from Chicago. The vessel had to be beached and almost capsized. It was later refloated and repaired. The ship last sailed as e) PINEDALE in 1976 and was scrapped at Hamilton in 1981.
1952
B.A. PEERLESS (Hull #148) was launched at Collingwood, Ontario, by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. for British American Transportation Co. Ltd. Renamed b.) GULF CANADA in 1969 and c.) COASTAL CANADA in 1984.
1961
After loading a cargo of scrap steel for Japan on its first visit to the Great Lakes, the Greek freighter MIHALIS ANGELOS ran aground leaving Toronto harbor. The ship had been one of the “Empire Class” ships of World War II, being built as a) EMPIRE MASEFIELD. It arrived at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for scrapping as f) GLORIA on December 6, 1967.
1973
The ROGER M. KYES (Hull #200) was christened at the American Ship Building Co.’s Toledo, Ohio, yard by Mrs. Roger Kyes for the American Steamship Co. Renamed b.) ADAM E. CORNELIUS in 1989.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
The steam barge MARY ROBERTSON burned near Mackinac. Her crew escaped to a schooner barge they were towing.
1875
The side-wheel river steamer DOMINION burned to the water’s edge at her dock in the Thames River near Chatham, Ontario. She was built in 1867, at Wallaceburg, Ontario.
1912
REPUBLIC stranded at Point Louise in the St. Marys River and sustained bottom damage.
1930
The sandsucker GEORGE J. WHALEN capsized and sank off Dunkirk, New York, in heavy seas, and 15 sailors perished. Only six were rescued and taken aboard the AMASA STONE.
1936
The MATERIAL SERVICE foundered in a heavy summer gale off the South Chicago lighthouse. She was a canal motor barge not designed for open-lake use.
1942
ENDERS M. VOORHEES departed Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge, Michigan, on her maiden voyage, bound for Duluth, Minnesota, to load iron ore. She was the second of five “Supers” for the Pittsburgh fleet to enter service.
The first PRESCODOC was torpedoed and sunk by U-160 off Georgetown, British Guiana, with the loss of 15 lives. The bauxite-laden steamer went down quickly, bow first, while en route to Trinidad, and only five were saved.
1943
LOCKWELL and KEYBELL collided above Bridge 11 of the Welland Canal. The former was repaired at Port Dalhousie with $13,450 in damages.
1946
TEAKBAY went aground on Featherbed Shoal off Carleton Island in the St. Lawrence while bound for Montreal with a load of coal. This member of the CSL fleet was released with the aid of tugs the next day and proceeded to Kingston for repairs.
1969
OTTERCLIFFE HALL cleared Lauzon, Quebec, on her maiden voyage as the last “straight deck” Great Lakes bulk freighter built with a pilothouse forward.
1971
While at the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for general repairs and engine overhaul, the CITY OF SAGINAW 31 caught fire, destroying her cabin deck and rendering her useless for further use. The blaze was caused by an acetylene torch and caused over $1 million in damage. She was not repaired. The CITY OF SAGINAW 31 was sold to Marine Salvage Ltd., Port Colborne, Ontario, for scrapping.
1974
The W.W. HOLLOWAY grounded in Lake St. Clair off the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club while running downbound with stone. Lightering into the J.F. SCHOELKOPF JR. was necessary before she was freed by four tugs on July 31.
PERE MARQUETTE 21 was towed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to be reduced to a barge.
1979
The Cayman Islands-registered QUIDNET came through the Seaway in 1978 but sank in a collision with the SEA TIDE at Mamei Curve in the Panama Canal while en route from Callao, Peru, to Trinidad. The hull was abandoned as a total loss and had to be cut in two before being towed away to a dumping ground. The ship had also been a Great Lakes visitor as b) LUDMILLA C. in 1968.
1993
The second FEDERAL SCHELDE to visit the Great Lakes was built in 1977 and came inland that year on its maiden voyage with sugar for Montreal and Toronto. The ship received major bow damage after striking the ARARAT in the Orinoco River of Venezuela. It went to Hamburg, Germany, for repairs and resumed service. It became b) TRIAS in 1994 and continued Seaway service until 1999. The ship arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on December 12, 2000.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Jerry Pearson, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II, and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit.
