1899
JOHN V. MORAN, a wooden propeller package freighter (214 foot, 1,350 gross tons) built in 1888 at West Bay City, Michigan, by F. W. Wheeler & Co. (Hull#44), was cut by the ice and developed a severe leak during a mid-winter run on Lake Michigan. The iron passenger/package freight steamer NAOMI rescued the crew from the sinking vessel. The MORAN was last seen drifting with the ice about 20 miles off Muskegon, Michigan. She was a combination bulk and package freighter with hatches in her flanks as well as on her deck.
1901
The ALEXANDER LESLIE was launched as a.) J T HUTCHINSON (Hull # 405) at Cleveland, Ohio by American Ship Building Co.
1964
The Collingwood built tug PUGWASH (Hull 85 – 1930) was torn from its moorings at Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. The vessel drifted out to sea and sank.
1971
HOMER D. WILLIAMS suffered extensive fire damage to her side plating and forward lower cabins during her lay-up at Toledo, Ohio. The fire was started by a spark from welding that caused the tarpaulins stored in the hold to catch fire.
1995
The founder of Lake Michigan Carferry, Charles Conrad, died at the age of 77.
2009
The SONATA suffered engine failure in the Gulf of Finland and had to be towed to Talinn, Estonia, for repairs. It was arrested there, sold at auction and broken up for scrap locally. The ship had been a Great Lakes visitor first as c) RENTALA in 1988 and was back as d) MARY W. in 1990 and f) LANGESUND in 2000.
2023
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society announced the discovery of the 144-foot Barquentine NUCLEUS, which sank more than 150 years ago in Lake Superior. The vessel was found under 600 feet of water, about 40 miles northwest of Vermilion Point on Lake Superior. The NUCLEUS sank on Sept. 14, 1869, when it was going downbound from Marquette with a load of iron ore. She got caught in a bad storm on Lake Superior and started to take on water. The crew reportedly abandoned ship and took the lifeboat, and after one steamer passed them by, they were rescued by the schooner WORTHINGTON. The NUCLEUS had previously sunk twice, and in 1854 it rammed and sank the S.S. DETROIT in Lake Huron. She is one of the oldest ships to go down along the Lake Superior Shipwreck Coast. The society used a marine sonic technology side-scan sonar in the summer of 2021 and positively identified the wreck in 2022.
Cargill announced it had closed its grain elevator at Burns Harbor in Portage as of Jan. 31, saying a variety of current and expected market conditions led to the decision to not renew its lease. The elevator handled soybeans, corn and wheat on Lake Michigan with a storage capacity of 7.768 million bus, according to Sosland Publishing’s 2023 Grain & Milling Annual. The Ports of Indiana grain export terminal at Burns Harbor received by truck and rail and loaded barge, rail and truck. Cargill said it notified customers of its decision in September 2022.
Contributors & Sources
Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, Father Dowling Collection, 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
