As a young freighter, the Roger Blough, in 1975, returned from its path to search for the sunken Edmund Fitzgerald on the eastern end of Lake Superior. A public-private research team has located an exceptional and rare find on the bottom of Lake Huron: the wreck of a 190-foot sailing vessel with all three of its original masts still upright and standing. Contributing to the casualty was the absence of a fire-activated automatic fuel oil shutoff valve on the fuel oil inlet piping before the burner, which would have stopped the fuel feeding the fire shortly after it started and limited the spread of the fire.". She was renamed for the Mississagi Strait in northern Lake Huron after being sold in 2001 to Lower Lakes Towing of Port Dover, Ont. Roger Blough arrived at Bay Shipbuilding last summer. ships, boats, marine and related for both the enthusiasts and those in the industry. Listed below is the current fleet of Great Lakes ships. The smoke-filled air on board the vessel cleared enough for officials and investigators to walk through by lunchtime Monday, some 11 hours after the shipyard first reported the fire at 1:38 a.m. Bala Cynwyd, PA (February 1, 2021) - At approximately 0130 today, a fire broke out on the motor vessel Roger Blough. Keystone officials at the time attributed the layup of the ship and two other bulk carriers, Philip R. Clarke and Edgar B. Speer, to the pandemic-related economic slowdown. The M/V Roger Blough left Sturgeon Bay on Thursday morning after spending more than a year sitting in lay-up following the blaze that the National Transportation Safety Board estimates caused more than $100 million in damage. Posted About Four Months Ago Salvage crews recover submerged tugboat in Juneau, AWO honors heroism of tug and towboat crews with new award, Coast Guard Foundation launches new logo, brand, Marine Highway Program offering $12 million in grants, St. Johns Bar Pilots order new launch from Gladding-Hearn. Blackstone Capital Partners sold the fleet in 2004, being renamed Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. after ownership was transferred to the Canadian National Railway. [13], MVRoger Blough, an iron ore bulk carrier vessel built for U.S. Steel in 1968-72 and used starting in 1972 in Great Lakes service to transport taconite pellets from Lake Superior to ports on Lake Erie and Lake Michigan, was named in his honor. Position & Voyage Data Add Photo. Welcome the digital homeport of Shipwatcher News Great Lakes Ships, a resource loaded with tons of information on Great Lakes ships both past and present. Wayne State University Press, 1999. Travelled distance : Port Calls: 14: Average / Max Speed : Min / Max Draught (m) Roger Bloughs crew ultimately recovered a 25-person life raft from the ill-fated ship. She survived a 2015 fire after welding sparks ignited while docked in Hamilton, Ont. Roger Blough entered service in 1972, a year later than expected, after a fire in its engine room left four people dead in June 1971. U.S. Coast Guard Vessels, engaged in icebreaking, aids to navigation, search and rescue, and border security operations on the Great Lakes. Throughout the 1970s, engineers studied the vessel and worked out a solution to these problems. The Roger Blough was built with a new shuttle-type unloading boom mounted aft. Crews used a cutting torch to open holes above the ships 01 deck, allowing hose teams to spray water inside. The Maritime Executive, Published In 1972, the group merged with March Group and the Labor Law Study Group (LLSG) to form Business Roundtable. A fire killed four aboard the boat in 1971, delaying its arrival by a year, according to a history of the Blough on Boatnerd.com. $100. Pp. From $26.95 11oz Mug Stewart J. Cort Great Lakes Freighters -3127. Builder: American Shipbuilding Co., Lorain, OH, Laid Down: Bow Section: June 3, 1968; Stern Section: December 29, 1969, Launch Date: Bow Section: December 21, 1968; Entire Hull: June 3, 1972. List of people on the cover of Time magazine (1950s), "Edwin H. Gott, 78, Is Dead; U.S. Steel's Retired Chairman", "Roger M. Blough, 81, Dies. 2021 Professional Mariner. The Blough suffered from vibration issues due to lack of water flow to her propellers. She hauled a lot of salt in her final years, which really does eat away at the innards of those things, he said. If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. Four years later, in November 1975, the bulker assisted in the search for the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. The U.S.-flagged ship typically carries taconite, a sedimentary rock containing iron. Self-discharging bulk carrier ROGER BLOUGH caught fire on Feb 1 in Wisconsin shipyard, Sturgeon Bay, Lake Michigan, USA, where the ship was docked for a winter lay-up. Published 497 subscribers Subscribe 75 Share 2.1K views 1 month ago Not my pics No idea when the tow will be, or if shes really going to be. Vessels owned and operated by Inland Lakes Management, under cargo contract to Lafarge Holcim. The U.S. Coast Guard captain of the port, Sault Ste. Vessel Utilization. Her self-unloading equipment consists of a single hold belt leading to an aft incline-belt system to 52 shuttle boom. on Friday, Oct. 8 and arrived at the Purvis Marine Scrapyard in Sault Ste. [11], Blough was married to Helen Decker Blough. Vessels operated by NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers, Vessel owned by G3 Canada, managed by Algoma Central Corporation. 1 Current boats. 1.2.1 1000-footers; 1.2.2 Integrated tug-barges; 1.3 Museum ships; . Published Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Coal power continues phase out, future of Great Lakes steel production comes to life, Lake Superior weather makes for impressive scenes, A new future for a historic trade route: The history of the Magdalen Islands salt run and the vessels that sailed it. Marie. It was supposed to start carrying cargo a year. The American Mariner and John J. Boland were on the other side of the Blough. Roger Blough on the way to the scrapyard 1 / 4 Roger Blough last trip though the Straits of Mackinac 35 8 8 comments Add a Comment big-rigging-hours 2 mo. It was not clear at press time if the ship would be repaired. She was a frequent sight on the Saginaw River, often juxtaposed against speedboats and various sailing vessels during regular Tall Ships celebrations in Bay City. From $18.95 3pc Panoramic Set ~ Edwin Gott -2723. Vessels owned by U.S. Oil, operated by Andrie, Inc. Read more Flames burned a third of the ore boat at the Bloughs aft end, affecting living quarters, the kitchen, or galley, and down into the engine room, Dietman said. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The Maritime Executive. A tugboat shifted the vessel about 20 feet to port, creating separation on the starboard side for better access. Scrap metal can be turned into anything, he said. The Roger Blough burned for several hours early Monday, requiring a massive suppression effort at the Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, shipyard where it had been wintering. Firefighting teams responded, understood fire was extinguished, but extent of damages remains unknown. "We're blessed by having [the Sturgeon Bay Fire Department] who are so responsive to the community," said Eric Dent with Fincantieri Shipyard. If you need help accessing the online public files due to a disability, pleasecontact us. All rights reserved (About Us). She had been anchored . Once the scrappers finish, LeLievre presumes the metal will be sent to the nearby Algoma Steel mill in Sault Ste. Historical stocks and bonds, Autographs, Americana, Ephemera, Numismatics and all forms of paper collectibles specializing in Uncancelled bonds The lack of regulations or classification standards related to diesel oil-fired air heating furnace construction, installation, safety shutdowns, and system alarms poses a risk to life and property if the equipment is not installed and maintained to standards similar to those in place for other oil-fired equipment.. The Roger Blough has been involved in several significant incidents in its history. This is the seventh generation of the original Shipwatcher News newsletter started in 2014. The shipbuilding company said it was awaiting the results of the investigations. The Blough was nearing the end of its construction when fire broke out, killing four workers. [12], Bough maintained a residence in the Mellon-U.S. Steel Building in Pittsburgh, PA as well as an apartment on Park Avenue in Manhattan. The Blough also has a tragic fire in its very early history. The bulker St. Clair caught fire in February 2019 in the Port of Toledo, Ohio, and burned for nearly 36 hours. The Roger Blough fire is the second major incident involving a laid-up laker in two years. ROGER BLOUGH is something of an iconic laker, being popular . The Mississagi nearly collided with a Port Huron seawall in 2004. That same year he re-joined White & Case as a partner[9] and founded the Construction Users Anti-Inflation Roundtable, "affectionately known" as "Roger's Roundtable". The Roger Blough was finally launched on June 3, 1972 and entered service on June 15th. Oil dripped onto a lightbulb, causing . Once there, it could become anything from a car to a refrigerator. Mar 1, 2023 10:34 PM by Greenwoods Guide to Great Lakes Shipping 2016, Harbor House Publishers, 2016. She finally entered service on June 15th, a little over a month after the first 1,000 footer Stewart J. Cort sailed on her maiden voyage. Initial Notification: On February 1, 2021, the USCG notified the NOAA SSC of an 833-foot laid-up vessel on fire in a marina. Roger Blough was tied up between Interlake Steamship Co.s James R. Barker and American Steamship Co.s American Mariner. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were unable to determine with certainty what caused the fire, which started in an engine room workshop. Built at Lorain OH by American Ship Building Co., Hull 90. The Roger Blough was docked at the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding facility on Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin when a fire started in the engine room on February 1, 2021. 50th anniversary of Roger Blough fire Rumors heard that the price to repair the ship was more then what it was worth due to its bad fires it had onboard. Check back often for new listings! She also was quickly added to the winter navigation fleet, and it was noted that on January 11, 1973, she struck the stern of her fleetmate Philip R. Clarke while in an ice convoy in the Straits of Mackinaw. Welcome to the online home of Freighters Newsletter, the bi-monthly publication of Shipwatcher News. When the laid-up boats are in Sturgeon Bay, most everything on board the boats is shut down. The bulk carrier was docked at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding for the winter. You have to be smart about what youre doing in an extremely confined area where you have very little to look at and understand.. The temperature exceeded 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit on the 01 deck, causing firefighters boots to stick to the deck on which they were standing. Those details and others were pulled. The Blough was the second of four boats stacked and bound to one another, with the James Barker anchored to the dock, with the Blough bound to it. Cook County Community Center log 4H building, Mitch Koslow told the Minnesota Star Tribune, whose Facebook page is a go-to spot for Great Lakes freighter enthusiasts. The Roger Blough blew one of her engines in July 1992. The Blough was entering its 50th year in service, but the fire has cast doubt on its ability to contribute to the 2021-22 Great Lakes' shipping campaign and beyond. Pp. On February 1, 2021, a fire broke out onboard the Roger Blough while she was in winter layup at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI. ago I heard she's heading to Conneaut OH for layup, what source definitively says she's being scrapped? While nobody was injured, there was a ship keeper on board when the fire department was paged. Responders cut Roger Blough loose from the two surrounding ships in case the situation escalated. Just weeks ago, the Roger Blough caught fire while laid up at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 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Can Europe. Tunnels added to stern section for better water flow to propeller. Banner Graphics designed by Free Eyes FM, Fred Miller III, Design a site like this with WordPress.com, https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/b/blough-roger, http://boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/RogerBlough.htm. [2] While at U.S. Steel, he often started his day at 4 or 5 a.m. and rarely ended the before 7 or 8pm. The ship's launch was originally planned for July 1971. Due to the economic downturn of 1981, the Blough was laid up at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin from September 2, 1981 to September 27, 1987. Steel self-unloading Great Lakes bulk freighter. The burner assembly's mounting coupling broke, and the burner dropped and fractured its own fuel line, igniting a fire. Sturgeon Bay isnt a transient port, like Duluth-Superior, with cargoes sailing in and out. Many ship names were reused after boats were sunk, scrapped or sold off and renamed. She was christened the George A. Sloan and carried iron ore and other cargos for U.S. Steel fleets under that name until 2001, according to a Boatnerd.com history. In addition, the furnace had no fire-activated automatic fuel oil shutoff valve on the piping before the burner, which would have stopped the fuel feeding the fire and limited its spread. Boatwatchers converged on the St. Clair River and St. Marys River as the Mississagi departed under tow from Sarnia, Ont. Barker and American Steamship Co.s American Mariner survived a 2015 fire after sparks. Was supposed to start carrying cargo a year everything on board the is! Lorain OH by American ship Building Co., roger blough scrapped 90 killing four workers in its history torch to open above! In and out 20 feet to port, like Duluth-Superior, with cargoes sailing in and.! To port, Sault Ste tragic fire in its very early history public files to. Search for the ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, allowing hose teams spray! 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