Boatnerd Discussion Forum

In today's history section the tanker Wilhelmine is cited as having grounded near Port Colborne on this date. The year was 1934, not 1933. The Essberger interests of Hamburg purchased the elderly vessel 25 September 1933 specifically to haul liquified lard rendered at the Chicago stockyards to Europe. It was launched 12 March 1888 by Armstrong, Mitchell & Co., Ltd., Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, as Caucase for Belgian owners, and underwent several name changes amd flew the flags of Greece, France, Norway, and Panama before its sale to Essberger subsidiary Atlantic Tank Rhederei GmbH in 1933. It had already entered the lakes in 1933 for its Panamanian owners carrying peanut oil from Hamburg to Toronto. Fifteen feet of the vessel's stern was removed to allow it entry into the canals. As for ts grounding on this date it was refloated, leaking lard, by Salvage Prince of Pyke Towing & Salvage Co., Ltd., and towed to Port Colborne by the tug Heloise after being declared a constructive total loss by the underwriters 11 June 1934. At Port Colborne its remaining cargo was discharged into tank cars at the Canadian Furnace Co., Ltd., dock. On 30 June 1934 the underwriters solicited bids for the hulk but acceptable offers were not forthcoming. The next week Wilhelmine was brought to Kingston for an exhaustive survey and again offered for sale at auction. This time Allied Oil Company (forerunner of Cleveland Tankers) bid $100 above the minimum required bid of $10000 and acquired the vessel with an eye towards rebuilding it for Allied's nascent fleet. Its crew wished to remain in Canada for some reason (gee, I wonder why) but Canadian authorities insisted they return to Germany. That never happened, and after closer inspection I believe Allied lost interest and the vessel was dismantled at Kingston. There is no mention of it in subsequent vessel passages and John Greenwood does not mention the vessel in Fleet Histories, v. 8, about Cleveland Tankers. Here is Wilhelmine as Caucase, new (at least by 1888 standards), apparently rigged as a brig, as well, just in case.