Main ship particulars are length of 277 m and beam of 34 m. All rights reserved. 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. The cargo-unloading conveyor belts then ignited, causing extensive damage throughout the aft section of the vessel. The Roger Blough, shown leaving Duluth in the summer of 2019 and heading out into Lake Superior. The Mississagi was built for $2.2 million at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge for the U.S. Maritime Commission under a war supply chain program and launched on Dec. 23, 1942. Welcome to the online home of Freighters Newsletter, the bi-monthly publication of Shipwatcher News. ROGER BLOUGH is something of an iconic laker, being popular among ships . Investigators looked at several factors, including VTS activities and the role that squat played in the accident. Published Vessels currently undergoing scrapping or awaiting scrapping, Only large vessels are listed for this fleet, Vessel under cargo contract to Lehigh Cement. The stern accomodations and engineering block had to be repaired and refinished, and her engines replaced, a task that added $13 Million to the project. Initially powered by a steam engine, the vessel was converted to diesel power in 1985. On Feb. 1, 2021, the Roger Blough was moored in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in winter layup. The Blough also has a tragic fire in its very early history. 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. They attempted entry but it was so thick they had to back out.. Vessels owned by Lafarge Holcim, managed by Inland Lakes Management. "We were very fortunate,". Built in two sections. [8], In 1969, at the age of 65, Blough retired from U.S. Steel. [citation needed] The NTSB report puts the amount of damage at more than $100 million. George Wallace had promised to block by standing in the schoolhouse door. The Roger Blough fire is the second major incident involving a laid-up laker in two years. It was not clear at press time if the ship would be repaired. Throughout the 1970s, engineers studied the vessel and worked out a solution to these problems. Pp. 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. Self-discharging bulk carrier ROGER BLOUGH, IMO 7222138, dwt 47280, built 1972, flag USA, manager KEYSTONE SHIPPING CO. Post navigation. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. One . 1972 Roger Blough. Lightering operations have been planned for the Great Lakes freighter hard aground on a reef in Lake Superior, but it's likely to be several more days before the vessel can be freed. 620-foot freighter cruises past Bay City tall ships, Mississagi re-floated after grounding near De Tour, Scrapyard in the sky awaits 111-year-old freighter, New Soo Lock gets $480M in presidents 2022 budget, Wreck of the Contest re-emerges from Lake Michigan, Deep in Lake Michigan, divers find ship lost in 1899, 17 miles to safety: Numbers tell story of the Fitzgerald, Diver recalls record scuba descent to Edmund Fitzgerald, Why the Fitzgerald tragedy sticks with us. Whenever there is a serious fire aboard a vessel, there is always a long . On February 1, firefighters worked to put out a fire aboard the MV Roger Blough. by Blackstone Capital Partners sold the fleet in 2004, being renamed Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. after ownership was transferred to the Canadian National Railway. Roger M. Blough, who in 1962 locked horns with President Kennedy over a price increase by the United States Steel Corporation, died Tuesday at the family home in Hawley, Pa. The Roger Blough was finally launched on June 3, 1972 and entered service on June 15th. Sea trials and delivery were delayed by a year to June 1972. Thu Aug 18 17:43:27 CEST 2016 Timsen. Rumors heard that the price to repair the ship was more then what it was worth due to its bad fires it had onboard. Pp. The Blough was nearing the end of its construction when fire broke out, killing four workers. M/V Roger Blough Vessel Fire; 324 N 1st Ave, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, USA. Vessel Utilization. Everyone who's made a post or video has said something different. He earned a bachelor of arts degree at Susquehanna University. 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. 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. The Rand Logistics fleet is operated in three separate entities, American Steamship Co., Grand River Navigation, and Lower Lakes Towing. Devendorf, John F.Great Lakes Bulk Carriers, 1869-1985. It was found in a compartment onboard. She returned to service for the remainder of the 1987 season. Local fire stations on scene and attempting to control the fire from other vessels. Read more She was repaired in drydock over two months, returing to service in August. All Rights Reserved. You like to follow the old ones around because you know their days are numbered, LeLievre said. Freeing the Blough consisted of two days worth of lightering into her fleetmates Arthur M. Anderson and Philip R. Clarke. In 2016, the Roger Blough anchored at Waiska Bay after running aground on a reef in . 2023 WBDK/WRKU/WRLU/WSBW, New Radio, Inc. Bridging the Gap with Stoneman-Schopf Agency. Mar 1, 2023 9:01 PM by Responders on May 30, 2016, place a protective boom around the stern of the freighter Roger Blough, which ran aground May 27, near Gros Cap Reefs Light in eastern Lake Superior. The Blough suffered a major engine room fire on June 24, 1971, resulting in the destruction of the aft section of the ship and the deaths of four shipyard workers. The keel was laid for the Bloughs bow section on September 3, 1968, and was launched on December 21, 1968. The firefighters started arriving 4 minutes after they were paged. 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. All posts to be in English Roger Blough towed to Conneaut Are forward accommodations rising back to the top of ship design trends? 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. He spent much of his free time in a large Victorian Home in Hawley, PA that had been passed down through his wife's family. [14] [15] See also [ edit] If you feel you have received this message in error, please contact the customer support team at 1-833-248-7801. In 1988, majority stock in USS Great Lakes Fleet was acquired by Blackstone Capital Partners. by Algoma Central Corporation, St. Catharines, ON Algoma Buffalo Algoma Compass Algoma Conveyor Algoma Discovery Algoma Equinox Algoma Guardian Algoma Harvester Algoma Innovator Algoma Intrepid Algoma Mariner Algoma Niagara Algoma Sault Algoma Strongfield Algoma Transport Captain Henry Jackman {2 . [13] Starting off on June 11, 2016, the Roger Blough was escorted by the tug Candace Elise to Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin for repairs.[14]. Historical stocks and bonds, Autographs, Americana, Ephemera, Numismatics and all forms of paper collectibles specializing in Uncancelled bonds A tugboat shifted the vessel about 20 feet to port, creating separation on the starboard side for better access. Great Lake Freighter Roger Blough Photo Coasters For Boat Fans. Workers at Bay Shipbuilding reported the fire at 0138 after noticing thick black smoke rising from the stack. The sole caretaker on board safely escaped to the pier, and no pollution was reported. The Blough remained on her usual trade routes, with the only change being the addition of a black and grey diagonal stripe to either side of her bow. Check back often for new listings! [2], Blough grew up in Hawley, Pennsylvania. Contents 1 Service history 1.1 Fire in layup 2 References 3 External links Total damage exceeded $150 million. Tunnels were added in her stern to improve water flow. Vessels owned by American Transport Leasing, operated by Andrie, Inc., under cargo contract to Lafarge Holcim. The building, named after Blough's wife, was dedicated on October 30, 1966. 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. He hoped the Blough would get back there. The Maritime Executive. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. We were very fortunate, Sturgeon Bay Fire Chief Tim Dietman told the News Tribune on Friday. She was able to run the remainder of the season on one engine, with the blown one being replaced while she was in winter layup at the Duluth Port Terminal. The temperature exceeded 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit on the 01 deck, causing firefighters boots to stick to the deck on which they were standing. A frequent visitor to the Twin Ports, the Roger Blough is a de facto resident of the port of Duluth-Superior, given its inclusion in the Great Lakes Fleet of ore boats, a nine-vessel roster operated by Key Lakes Inc., of Duluth, and owned Canadian National Railway. The Great Lakes freighter Roger Blough may have carried its last load. [7], Blough stubbornly resisted Kennedy administration efforts to enlist Alabama businesses to support desegregation of the University of Alabama, which race-baiting Gov. They were able to extinguish belt fires in some areas despite flames and high heat. The fire burned for nearly 12 hours, causing serious damage to the ships cargo conveyor belt and aft spaces above and below deck. Investigations by the fire department locally, and also the United States Coast Guard were wrapping up. 3980 Sherman St., Ste 100 Berry, Sterling P. Blough, Roger. Title: Microsoft Word - ^N63 Freighters May-June 2022 Author: brend Created Date: 7/6/2022 11:29:10 AM The ship's launch was originally planned for July 1971. She serves as a lake freighter on the Great Lakes. Firefighters tried other ways to get into the ship, including through a cargo tunnel, but they were turned back. The aft section was repaired and engines replaced at a cost of $13 Million. The man was able to self-rescue, Dietman said. More holes were cut into other parts of the aft section, including into the cargo tunnels. The cargo-unloading conveyor. She had been anchored . 4.7. She was renamed for the Mississagi Strait in northern Lake Huron after being sold in 2001 to Lower Lakes Towing of Port Dover, Ont. The Blough was freed and departed for Sturgeon Bay under her own power on June 11, being escorted by the tug Candace Elise. Vessel ROGER BLOUGH is a Bulk Carrier, Registered in USA. The boat is saved; its floating, its secure and stable.". St. Clair was undergoing repairs when the fire started. 8-9. The ship was launched on June 3, 1972, and christened on June 5. Smoke could be seen on our. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Vessels owned by Indiana Harbor Steamship Company, managed by Central Marine Logistics, Griffith, IN under charter to Cleveland-Cliffs. 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.. Tunnels added to stern section for better water flow to propeller. According to the National Transportation Safety Board's August 17, 2022, incident report[16] "the probable cause of the engine room fire aboard the bulk carrier Roger Blough was likely the repeated removal and reinstallation of the furnaces burner that led to the failure of its mounting coupling, resulting in the operating burner dropping to the bottom of its enclosure and fracturing its fuel supply line, which allowed diesel fuel to ignite. NTSB recommended that the U.S. Coast Guard and ABS should develop standards for furnace installations in line with the NFPA guidelines. LeLievre said the Mississagi carried her last cargo, wheat, through the Soo Locks in January and laid up in Hamilton, Ontario for the winter before traveling to Sarnia in April, where she was stripped for parts and equiptment. Firefighting teams responded, understood fire was extinguished, but extent of damages remains unknown. Roger Blough suffers major fire in layup Building the International Great Lakes Datum In the Design: Automation - A look into the increased use of automation on Great Lakes ships Featured Vessel: Mississagi #54 Freighters November-December 2020 #54 Freighters Nov-Dec 2020 Download Introducing Michigan Trader and Dirk S. VanEnkevort 188. Conditions improved by daybreak and crews began attacking the fire from inside. The Blough holds a special place in Great Lakes maritime history, as it was one of the ships that helped to search for the Edmund Fitzgerald after that famous freighter sank on Nov. 10, 1975. Roger Blough. on Friday, Oct. 8 and arrived at the Purvis Marine Scrapyard in Sault Ste. 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 ship was among just a few launched before 1950 still plying the lakes. It caught fire while in harbour in Wisconsin yesterday. Once we got that controlled, everything got better pretty quick, the fire chief said. You cant be rushing in. The fire aboard a wintering Roger Blough on Feb. 2 caused an estimated $20 million in damages, one-fifth the total cost of the $100 million lake freighter. The freighter, built by the American Shipbuilding Company in Ohio, launched in 1972. The bow section was floated into the drydock on July 25, 1970, where it was joined with the stern section. The NTSB incident report released on August 17th, 2022, said, the probable cause of the engine room fire on the Roger Blough was likely the repeated removal and reinstallation of the furnaces burner that led to the failure in its mounting coupling. The fire resulted in the NTSB recommending that the U.S. Coast Guard and ABS should develop standards for furnace installations in line with the National Fire Protection Associations guidelines to MarineLink.com. 2021 Professional Mariner. world Depression? 213-215, 217-220, 269-270. The Roger Bloughs history includes a fire that occurred before its maiden voyage in 1971 and the rescue of a 25-person life raft from the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Stern section: keel laid Dec 29, 1969 in dry dock; bow section joined with stern section July 25, 1970 and vessel completed in dry dock. The shipbuilding company said it was awaiting the results of the investigations. 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