BoatNerd.Com Discussion Boards

2:30 p.m., tugs approaching Cuyahoga

a ship owners misfortune and a shipyards good fortune. heddle marine in st catherines or the shipyard in toledo? your guess is as good as mine.

The tugs Ecosse and Stormont are both in Kingsville and both passed nearby the Cuyahoga on their way to that port. So I suspect that they are there for a tow. But I wonder if they might be waiting on weather or sea conditions. Weather buoys were showing 5-6 foot wave heights in the main basin of Lake Erie earlier today, with winds around 20 knots.

Are they waiting on a tug to assist? Last evening they were still anchored.

Geest wrote: ↑May 24, 2023, 9:31 am The AIS signal for the Cuyahoga is still live and reporting so the vessel still has power from some source. Looks like as of 1030 the Indiana Harbor has left the area as well, so it seems the situation is stabilized at present. They are likely letting the fire-effected area cool down and remain sealed to prevent a reflare.

At 0030 the Cuyahoga advised Sarnia Traffic they had power from an auxiliary generator so their navigational lights were working (and presumably the AIS) so they would not be a hazard to other ships. That seemed to be the end of any significant radio traffic and the situation apparently stabilized.

8 of the crew took to a lifeboat and or a workboat and the remainder of the crew stayed on board.

The AIS signal for the Cuyahoga is still live and reporting so the vessel still has power from some source. Looks like as of 1030 the Indiana Harbor has left the area as well, so it seems the situation is stabilized at present. They are likely letting the fire-effected area cool down and remain sealed to prevent a reflare.

Reading the article posted to Boatnerd newspage, it doesn't sound like the fire was severe, and that the Mayday call may have been done as a precaution in case the crew couldn't contain the fire.

Thankfully the crew didn't have to abandon ship as the crew of the Cartiercliffe Hall did back in June 1979 when she had her fire near Eagle Harbor.

It's way too early to speculate on her fate.

Well maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.🤷🏼‍♂️may have been over reporting. Fire out, continuing on its way. That’s good!

all crew are safe and fire is out

There is apparently some conflicting information circulating online, which is not unusual during the early hours of episodes such as these. Apparently as of 1:00AM ET May 24, 2023, there is some question as to whether or not the Cuyahoga was abandoned. Regardless, the fire appears to be serious and it is probable to have a very negative effect upon the future career of the 79-year-old vessel that is most likely near its retirement point in any case.

Well sadly it appears the venerable cuyahoga has most likely reached its end. Must be a serious fire to abandon ship. Hope all crew are safe and rescued ok. She’s lasted what? 30 years since the Bravenor family saved it from scrapping and built a successful shipping company. Sad way to end a long distinguished career.