MV Roger Blough

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Close fit (7314833356).jpg
History
United States
NameMV Roger Blough
BuilderAmerican Ship Building Company[1]
Yard number900[1][2]
Laid downSeptember 3, 1968
LaunchedJune 5, 1972[1]
In serviceJune 15, 1972
Identification
Statusin active service, as of 2020
NotesShuttle Boom type Self-Unloading dry bulk carrier
General characteristics
Class and typeLake freighter
Tonnage
Length858 ft (262 m)[1]
Beam105 ft (32 m)[1]
Draft39.2 ft (11.9 m) (hull depth)[1]
Propulsion2 x SEMT Pielstick, 16PC2V-400 four stroke, single acting V-16, 7,100 bhp (5,300 kW) each

MV Roger Blough is a ship built in 1972 by American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio. She serves as a lake freighter on the Great Lakes. The ship is owned by Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. and is named for the former chairman of U.S. Steel, Roger Blough.

Service history[]

The ship's launch was originally planned for July 1971.[3][4] However, on June 24, 1971, the ship suffered a major engine room fire which killed four and caused serious damage. Sea trials and delivery were delayed by a year to June 1972.[5]

The Roger Blough assisted in the search for SS Edmund Fitzgerald. On November 11, 1975, the morning after the sinking, the crew of the Roger Blough recovered a 25-person life raft from the Edmund Fitzgerald.[6]

She was stuck in the ice in Lake Erie near Conneaut, Ohio for eight days in February 1979[7] and then was laid up from 1981 to 1987 due to the economy and the capacity of the newer 1,000 feet (300 m) lake freighters.[8][3]

On May 27, 2016, the Roger Blough ran aground on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior with some minor flooding reported.[9] She remained aground on May 29, 2016 near Gros Cap Reefs Light with the United States Coast Guard vessel USCGC Mobile Bay on station monitoring the situation and enforcing a 500-yard (460 m) safety zone around the vessel.[10] At 5:45 AM on June 3, the Roger Blough began offloading some of its taconite cargo to the SS Philip R. Clarke to lift the ship off the reef.[11] The vessel was refloated off the reef at 10:45 AM, June 4, and anchored at Waiska Bay for further evaluation or repairs.[12] Lightering operations were completed at Waiska Bay on June 7, 2016 with the SS Philip R. Clarke and the SS Arthur M. Anderson receiving the remainder of the taconite cargo.[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]

On February 1, 2021 the vessel was engulfed in flame while docked at Bay Shipbuilding[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Vessel Documentation Query". NOAA/US Coast Guard. 2015-10-10. Retrieved 2016-05-28.
  2. ^ Colton, Tim. "AmShip Lorain, Lorain OH". shipbuildinghistory.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-02.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Wharton, George. "Roger Blough". BoatNerd.com.
  4. ^ "Fire damages new Ore ship". Reading Eagle. June 25, 1971. p. 17.
  5. ^ "Great Lakes Ore Carrier in Sea Trials". The Milwaukee Sentinel. June 13, 1972. p. 8.
  6. ^ United States Coast Guard (USCG) (July 26, 1977). "Marine Board Casualty Report: SS Edmund Fitzgerald; Sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975 With Loss of Life". USCG: 42. hdl:2027/mdp.39015071191467. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Freighter Freed". The Tuscaloosa News. February 17, 1979.
  8. ^ Bawal, Raymond A. (2009). Twilight of the Great Lakes Steamers. Inland Expressions. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-9818157-2-5.
  9. ^ "U.S. Coast Guard responding to grounded freighter in Whitefish Bay". Soo Today. May 27, 2016.
  10. ^ "MV Roger Blough Aground in Lake Superior". uscgnews.com. May 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Lightering Operations begin on Motor Vessel Roger Blough in Lake Superior, Update 9". uscgnews.com. June 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Motor vessel Roger Blough safely anchored in Waiska Bay, Update 11". uscgnews.com. June 4, 2016.
  13. ^ "Lightering operations complete on motor vessel Roger Blough, Update 13". uscgnews.com. June 7, 2016.
  14. ^ "Roger Blough enroute to Sturgeon Bay for Repairs, Update 14". uscgnews.com. June 11, 2016.
  15. ^ "Roger Blough starts on fire in Sturgeon Bay, Update 15 they spotted the smoke from a sky cam at around 3 AM". WBAY Wi. February 1, 2021.
The Roger Blough heading north at the St. Clair Light.
The Roger Blough heading north at the St. Clair Light.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""