Thursday, February 22, 2007

Erie Connections, Part 1: STEELTON (2)

Note: In the future, I will be presenting more histories of vessels with connections to Erie. These vessels may have wintered here, been built here, been owned by Erie-based companies, or just have visited Erie a few times. If the vessel has an interesting history, it will be presented here with as many photos as I can find.

With America in the thick of World War II after the events of December 7, 1941, the U.S. Maritime Commission acted to increase the amount of raw materials moved over the Great Lakes. As a result, they designed and ordered a series of ships from Great Lakes Engineering Works’ yards at River Rouge, Michigan, and Ashtabula, Ohio. The sixteen vessels came to be known as the “Maritime” class, or simply as Maritimers.

The Maritime Commission, however, as a government agency with a war effort on its hands, had no intention of getting into the shipping business. To the contrary, the sixteen vessels ordered were offered to American shipping companies at far lower than what they could order the ships for, in addition to the equivalent tonnage in obsolete vessels that they traded to the Maritime Commission. The Maritime Commission then leased the vessels back to the companies until the end of the war.

The bulk carrier PILOT KNOB 2nd was launched on September 11, 1943 at the GLEW yard in Ashtabula. After her launching she was handed over to Bethlehem Steamship and renamed STEELTON, becoming the second vessel to carry this name for the Bethlehem fleet. Ironically, one of the vessels traded in for this ship was the first vessel to carry the name STEELTON, that vessel being a 1907-vintage laker with about half of the cargo capacity as the new vessel.

Worth noting is that both the first and third vessels to carry the name STEELTON had connections to Erie. The STEELTON (1) was returned to Erie harbor after World War II ended, being anchored in Presque Isle Bay during 1945 and 1946 before departing under tow for the cutter’s torch at Hamilton on June 9, 1946. STEELTON (3) would spend many winters in lay-up in throughout the 1960s and 1970s in at Perry Shipbuilding in Erie harbor.

STEELTON was one of the largest bulkers on the lakes at the time of her launching, stretching 603.66 feet long and 60.16 feet wide, with her Official Number being 244507. Almost immediately STEELTON was pressed into service carrying iron ore from Lake Superior and Lake Michigan to Bethlehem’s mills at Lackawanna, New York, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (the Bethlehem ore being unloaded at the Pennsylvania Railroad ore dock in Erie and shipped via rail to Bethlehem).

STEELTON made numerous visits to Erie over the years, including after the war effort ended. As an example of how important Erie was to Bethlehem Steel, in 1952, three consecutive early season trips were made to Erie with iron ore from ports on Lake Superior. The STEELTON arrived on April 26, unloading and departing ballast for Superior for a return trip, arriving back at Erie on May 4, and then returning again on May 10. Of note, on May 10, the STEELTON was not the only Maritimer to dock in Erie. Fleetmate LEHIGH and Reiss Steamship’s RICHARD REISS both docked with iron ore from Superior on that date.

STEELTON had a relatively uneventful career for Bethlehem Steel, and, due to the condition of her tank tops, an important internal part of the vessel’s hull, was traded to the Interlake Steamship Company in 1965 for the FRANK PURNELL. The STEELTON’s tank tops were in better shape than the PURNELL’s, so the former went to Interlake to be converted to a self-unloader. The vessels switched names and operators.

The PURNELL only lasted four years under Interlake Steamship Company before being sold to Oglebay Norton in 1970. It was under Oglebay Norton that the PURNELL was involved in several casualties before being renamed ROBERT C. NORTON in 1974. On November 9, 1971, the PURNELL was inbound the Niagara River near Townawanda, New York, when she ran aground. At the time she was carrying a cargo of coal. Lightered the same day by fleetmate W.C. RICHARDSON, the PURNELL was taken to Lorain, Ohio’s American Shipbuilding yard for repair.

1973 proved to be a bad season for the PURNELL, as she recorded two collisions and two groundings. On April 20, while underway in Lake Erie near North Bass Island, the PURNELL suffered the first of two groundings. She freed herself and proceeded to Lorain for inspection.

June 2, 1973 proved to be the worst day of the season for the PURNELL, as she suffered a collision and subsequent grounding. At 5:23 a.m., upbound in the Detroit River with coal from Lorain, the PURNELL collided with her fleetmate SYLVANIA, which was downbound in ballast. The PURNELL then grounded briefly. Sustaining only minor damage, the PURNELL freed itself and proceeded upbound to St. Clair, Michigan to unload.

Finally, on August 14, 1973, while refueling at the Shell Oil Dock in Sarnia, Ontario, the PURNELL was pushed into a dock walkway by the wake of a passing freighter. This caused no damage to the PURNELL but extensive damage to the walkway.

That winter the vessel was renamed for the final time, to ROBERT C. NORTON, honoring the son of one of the founders of the Oglebay Norton Company. This would prove to be her final name, one she carried to the scrapper’s torch in 1994. However, one final accident awaited her on May 6, 1977, when the NORTON sustained $350,000 in damages when she grounded at Calcite, Michigan.

The NORTON spent the late 1980s and early 1990s in retirement at Toledo, Ohio, before being sold to International Marine Salvage in 1994 for scrapping overseas. Under tow of McKeil Marine’s tugboat ROBERT B. NO.1, the NORTON departed Toledo on Independence Day 1994. A sadly ironic end to the career of a vessel that had, in her own way, fought to keep America free during World War II.



As Steelton


As Frank Purnell; Jim Hoffman Photo


Robert C. Norton, Cleveland, 8-22-78; Rudi Rabe photo

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Erie Historical: Pennsylvania Railroad Announces Sale of Coal Dock

On August 21, 1965 , the Pennsylvania Railroad announced its plans to sell its coal dock property in Erie harbor. The pre-World War I vintage facility had primarily been used for coal cargoes bound for Bethlehem Steel's plant in Lackawanna, New York, but the previous summer had been put out of operation by high unit coal train rates.

From Telescope (Vol. 14.9, September 1965)

Monday, February 12, 2007

Erie Historical Arrivals: Ore Dock Listing, May 6, 1960

From the Erie Daily Times, Friday, May 6, 1960, the following vessels were due for arrival that weekend to unload iron ore at the Pennsylvania Railroad Ore Dock at Parade Street, the current home of Erie Sand & Gravel.

May 6: JOHN T. HUTCHINSON
May 7: DANIEL J. MORRELL
May 7: SEWELL AVERY
May 8: WILLIAM G. CLYDE
May 8: HOMER D. WILLIAMS

Of these, only the CLYDE is currently sailing, as the MAUMEE for Lower Lakes Transportation. The MAUMEE visited Erie one time during the 2006 season, on April 24 with a load of salt from Fairport Harbor, Ohio.

Maumee, Mounfort Terminal, 24 April 2006.
Maumee, April 24, 2006

The MORRELL sank in Lake Huron in 1965, and the AVERY is now sunk as a dock at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The HUTCHINSON and WILLIAMS both went for scrap in the mid-1980s.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

PILGRIM

Page 4A of today's Erie Times-News features a photo of the PILGRIM as she rests now. The tug is still in this position and likely will remain underwater until the bay thaws, so she may be there a while.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

PILGRIM Sinking, Part II

Below are photos of the PILGRIM, first as she appeared on 30 October 2006, and then from 12:30 this afternoon.

DSCF1240

DSC_7579

DSC_7585

DSC_7590

Fishing tug PILGRIM sinks

For the second winter in a row, ice on Presque Isle Bay has claimed a victim of Erie's historic harborfront fleet.

Last winter, the 1884-vintage restaurant/railroad car ferry LANSDOWNE sank on Christmas Day 2005, and was not raised until 2 February.

Recent cold temperatures have left ice on Erie's harbor to be several inches thick to a foot or more. This caused, as I witnessed today, the weight of the snow and ice to begin to crush 1946-built fishing vessel PILGRIM to begin to sink at her dock in the East Basin. The vessel is already sitting several feet lower in the water than normal and unless something is done soon, will likely slip to the bottom as more cold temperatures and snow are expected soon. The vessel is owned by Benjamin Green III of Waterford and was built at Vermillion, Ohio in 1946.

I will post photos of the PILGRIM's present state when I get home this evening.


PILGRIM.

Also, anyone who has visited the site in the past couple of days may have noticed that it can now be linked to directly at http://www.erieshipnews.com . This change is part of bigger plans I have for this blog in the future.

Friday, February 2, 2007

Erie Historical Arrivals: VILLE de QUEBEC, 1959

Erie's first saltwater vessel to enter port after the April 25, 1959 opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway was the 1954-built VILLE de QUEBEC, which arrived at 0930 on May 19, 1959, docking at the Duquesne Marine Terminal, located at the Holland Street location of Erie Shipbuilding. The vessel arrived to load 500 tons of packaged oil, bound from Oil City to ports in Europe, and departed at around noon on May 20.