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Off Lake Huron at Point
Edward, ON, July 14, 2007. |
John McCreery |
Great Lakes Fleet Page Vessel Feature -- Lee
A. Tregurtha
by George Wharton
The Lee A. Tregurtha has had a long life, in many trades and under
many names. She was originally laid down in the early stages of
World War II at the Bethlehem Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Sparrows
Point, MD yard as the commercial ocean tanker Mobiloil (builder's hull #
4378). Shortly after, construction of the new tanker was taken
over under contract by the U.S. Maritime Commission who renamed the vessel Samoset at
her launch June 25, 1942, sponsored by Mrs. H.O. Smith. The tanker was designated as a type "T3-S-A1"
oiler to be operated by Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., New York, NY. On
December 24, 1942, the Samoset was acquired by the U.S. Navy and
commissioned the same day joining the Atlantic Fleet as the USS Chiwawa (Navy designation AO.68)
under the command of Cdr. H.F. Fultz. The USS Chiwawa was the
first of 5 "T3-S-A1's" acquired by the U.S. Navy, the 5 making up the Chiwawa
class of auxiliary oiler. These tankers were initially to be
built for private companies and were named by them but when the U.S.
Navy took possession of them, they were named by the U.S. Navy after
Native American names of rivers and lakes. Another of the
Chiwawa class, the USS Neshanic (AO.71), was also converted for Great
Lakes service now sailing as the American
Victory for the American Steamship Company. Of the remaining
3, the USS Enoree (AO.69) and USS Niobrara (AO.72) remained with the
U.S. Navy after the war, both being in and out of commission until they were
discarded in February, 1959. The USS Escalante (AO.70) became the
merchant tanker George MacDonald in 1947 and was lost in June, 1960.
The USS Chiwawa had the
following overall dimensions: 501' 09" (152.93m) loa x 68' 00" (20.73m)
beam x 30' 09" (9.37m) depth; lightweight displacement 5,782 tons (5,875
mt); cargo capacity of 10,278 tons (10,443 mt) or approximately 134,000
barrels (21,304 m3). The liquid petroleum cargoes were contained
in 40 tanks: 8 centerline with 16 port and starboard wing tanks.
She was powered by a single shaft yard-built impulse reaction type,
cross-compound 7,700 s.h.p. (5,663 kW) steam turbine engine with 2
Foster-Wheeler heavy fuel oil fired water tube boilers. Her rated
service speed was 15.3 knots. Defensive
anti-aircraft armament consisted of 1 x 5" (127mm) 38 caliber DP, 4 x 3"
(76mm) 50 caliber, 8 x 40mm twin mounts and 8 x 20mm twin mounts.
Following her shakedown
cruise and post-shakedown overhaul, the USS Chiwawa departed Norfolk, VA
on February 13, 1943 bound for Aruba, Netherlands West Indies to load
oil and returned to New York, NY on February 25 to join convoy UGS-6 bound
for Casablanca, Morocco as an escort oiler and the Commodore's flagship.
Her prime duties were to provide fuel as needed for transfer at sea to
the destroyers escorting the convoy and to the merchant ships as needed.
Consisting of 45 ships plus escorts, the destroyers USS Champlin
(DD.601), USS Hobby (DD.610), USS Mayrant (DD.402), USS Rhind (DD.404),
USS Rowan (DD.405), USS Trippe (DD.403) and USS Wainwright (DD.419),
convoy UGS-6 left New York on March 4, 1943. The convoy was
intercepted by 3 wolf-packs totaling 17 German U-boats that had gathered
to attack the convoy while east of the Azores. A total of 4 ships
were sunk before arriving at Casablanca on March 21. The losses
were the SS Keystone on March 13, SS Wyoming on March 15, SS Benjamin
Harrison on March 16 and SS Molly Pitcher on March 17. One U-boat,
U-130, was lost in the battle, being sunk by depth charges from the USS
Champlin on March 12. U-130 was the submarine that had originally
spotted and reported the oncoming convoy on the day she was sunk.
The USS Chiwawa was awarded a Battle Star for her services as part of
this convoy. She returned to Norfolk, VA on April 28, 1943 as part
of convoy GUS-6.
The USS Chiwawa continued
providing service up and down the North American east coast into the
Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea by herself and crossing the Atlantic
Ocean in convoy service without incident for the remainder of 1943 well
into 1944. Ports visited included Argentia, NF, Bermuda, Port Arthur and
Beaumont, TX, Greenock and Loch Long, Scotland, Swansea and Milford
Haven, Wales and Belfast and Firth of Clyde, Ireland. On July 14,
1944, the oiler departed Norfolk, VA bound for Mers El Kebir, Algeria
arriving July 30 as part of convoy UGS-48. Shortly after. on
August 3, she departed Mers El Kebir for Naples, Italy to provide
fueling services for the ships carrying out and supporting Operation
Anvil, the invasion of southern France before returning to Oran, Algeria
on September 2. The USS Chiwawa was awarded a second Battle Star
for her participation in this campaign. She returned to New York
and resumed sailing solo up and down the east coast adding Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, Houston and Baytown, TX to her list of ports of call.
The tanker only made one more return trip across the Atlantic in escort
convoy service as part of convoy UGS-59 sailing November 1, 1944 from
Norfolk to Casablanca, returning to Norfolk on December 10 with convoy
GUS-59.
Following a refit, the
USS Chiwawa was transferred to the Pacific Fleet on July 18, 1945,
arriving at Pearl Harbor on August 1, 1945. On August 6, the oiler
departed Pearl Harbor for Ulithi, Caroline Islands arriving August 19
for an assignment as a station tanker for the 7th Fleet. She then
joined convoy UOK-51 from Ulithi arriving at Buckner Bay, Okinawa on
August 30 to again serve as a station tanker but did make voyages to refuel the 7th Fleet at sea
during September. The USS Chiwawa remained
based at Okinawa until the end of November of 1945 before returning to San
Francisco on December 13. She received the "Navy Occupation
Service Medal - Asia" for the period from September 2 to November 30,
1945. The tanker remained in active service until she was
decommissioned May 6, 1946 at New York and transferred August 23, 1946
to the U.S. Maritime Commission for lay-up in the National Defense
Reserve Fleet.
To summarize the USS Chiwawa's World War II service from her
commissioning to September 1, 1945, the oiler journeyed approximately
164,000 miles (263,925 k) or the equivalent of close to 6.5 times around
the world. Her largest monthly mileage achieved was in July, 1945
with 9,229 miles (14,852 k). She carried about 2.8 million barrels
(445,860 m3) of gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil and fuel oil of which
417,000 barrels (66,401 m3) were transferred at sea to vessels of all
sizes.
In 1947, the tanker was
sold to Cities Service Oil Co., New York who retained the tanker's U.S.
Navy name of Chiwawa. She was used to shuttle home heating oil,
gasoline and other petroleum products from Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean
refineries to U.S. eastern seaboard ports.
On February 12, 1960,
Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Co., Cleveland, OH announced the purchase of
the Chiwawa for lengthening and conversion to a Great Lakes ore carrier;
the conversion to be completed by American Ship Building, Lorain, OH.
After arriving at Lorain, during 1960/61, the bow and stern were removed
and the old mid-body scrapped. A new 510' 00" (155.45m)mid-body
was built by Schlieker-Werft, Hamburg, West Germany as their hull # 554
and launched September 21, 1960. That day, the Dutch tug Zeeland
took the new mid-body in tow to cross the Atlantic Ocean, arriving at
Quebec City on November 7. After arriving at Lorain, the bow and stern
were joined to the new mid-body making a "new" Seaway-sized Great Lakes
ore carrier. The vessel's new dimensions were: 730' 00"
(222.5m) loa x 75' 00" (22.86m) x 39' 00" (11.89m), cargo capacity
25,600 tons (26,911 mt) at a mid-summer draft of 27' 10" (8.48m) or
23,600 tons (23,979 mt) at the original Seaway draft of 26' 00" (7.92m);
the cargoes contained in 4 holds serviced by 21 hatches.
On May 18, 1961, the new
Great Lakes bulk carrier was christened Walter A. Sterling. The
vessel's namesake was Mr. Walter Adam Sterling, born October 31, 1891,
who spent most of his life working for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron
Company. He was elected as president of the company in 1958,
retiring in 1961 but remaining on the board until 1969. After
acceptance by her new owners, on July 5, 1961, the Walter A. Sterling
departed on her Great Lakes maiden voyage sailing as the flagship of the
Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Co. fleet.
Improvements continued to
be made to the Walter A. Sterling. In 1966, a bow thruster was
added and during her winter lay-up of 1967/68 at Lorain, OH, her boiler
and burner controls were automated. Then, in 1976 at a cost of
$3.5 million, the bulker was lengthened 96' (29.26m) at American Ship
Building, Lorain, OH including the installation of a new floatation
safety system. This lengthening increased her cargo capacity to
30,592 tons (31,083 mt) making her the largest steam powered vessel on
the Great Lakes. Then, in 1978, the Walter A. Sterling was
converted to a self-unloader by the same ship yard, returning to service
October 2, 1978. This conversion reduced her cargo capacity to
29,300 tons (29,771 mt) at a draft of 28' 01" (8.56m) contained in 5
holds serviced by 24 hatches. Her holds have the cubic capacity to
carry 18,500 net tons of coal (equivalent to 16,518 tons or 16,783 mt).
The conversion included the installation of a stern mounted 250' (76.2m)
discharge boom with hopper type polymer lined cargo holds gravity
feeding through hydraulically controlled cargo gates to tunnel
conveyors. This upgrade was followed up in 1982 with the addition of a stern
thruster.
The Walter A. Sterling's
tenure on the Great Lakes had been marred only a couple minor incidents,
until April 6, 1983 when the self-unloader allided with an unidentified
underwater obstruction while downbound the St. Marys River. She
was holed with a reported 18' (5.49m) of water in her forward
compartments and developed a portside list. To prevent sinking,
the vessel was intentionally beached. She was balanced and her
cargo of taconite pellets was partially lightered to the Henry Ford II
before proceeding under her own power on April 8 to Huron, OH to unload
the remainder of the cargo before reporting to Lorain where a 280'
(85.34m) gash was repaired.
At the end of the 1984
navigation season, the Walter A. Sterling and her fleetmate, the
self-unloader Edward B. Greene were sold to the Ford Motor Company's
subsidiary Rouge Steel Co., Dearborn, MI. In early 1985, the
Walter A. Sterling was renamed William Clay Ford (2) in honor of the son
of Mr. Edsel Ford who was born March 14, 1925 and became a director of
Ford in 1948. The Edward B. Greene was renamed Benson Ford (3).
The William Clay Ford departed Duluth, MN on April 16, 1985 on her laden
maiden voyage for her new owners with taconite pellets for Rouge Steel.
Improvements continued to be made to the vessel as during her winter
lay-up of 1985/86, $2 million was spent converting her electrical system
from DC to AC and for a new automated boiler trim system. Her
tenure with the "Ford Fleet" was short-lived. On March 13, 1989,
Ford announced that its Rouge Steel subsidiary was going to sell its
marine operations.
As a result of this
announcement, In April, 1989, the remaining fleet consisting of the
William Clay Ford, Benson Ford and Henry Ford II was sold to Lakes
Shipping Company, a newly formed affiliate of Interlake Steamship Co.,
Cleveland, OH. Included with the sale was a long-term contract for
Interlake to haul raw materials for Rouge Steel and the Ford Rouge
Plant. On May 13, 1989, the William Clay Ford was renamed Lee A.
Tregurtha in honor of Mrs. Dorothy Lee Anderson Tregurtha, born on
February 5, 1937 and wife of Mr. Paul R. Tregurtha, an owner of
Interlake Steamship Co., Lakes Shipping and the Mormac Marine Group.
Also at this time, the Benson Ford was renamed Kaye E. Barker and the
Henry Ford II became the Samuel Mather (3); the latter never to sail
under the Interlake banner, being scrapped in 1994.
As has been her history,
improvements continue to be made to the Lee A. Tregurtha. On
January 9, 2006, the classic self-unloader arrived at Bay Shipbuilding,
Sturgeon Bay, WI for the removal and replacement of her original steam
power plant. Installed were 2 new, extensively automated Rolls Royce
Bergen B32-40L6P medium speed 6 cylinder 4,020 b.h.p. (3,000 KW) diesel
engines burning heavy fuel oil. The power is fed through a twin
input, single output Renk reduction gearbox to a new 5-blade KaMeWa
controllable pitch propeller system built to an ABS grade1B ice service
rating, each blade being 17' (5.18m) in diameter. On September 29,
2006, the diesel powered Lee A. Tregurtha returned to service sailing to
Escanaba, MI for a load of taconite pellets for Indiana Harbor, IN.
With her return to service, her fleetmate Charles M. Beeghly became the
largest operating steamer on the Great Lakes (the John Sherwin being the
same length as the Charles M. Beeghly but is in service as a storage barge only).
Even though the Lee A. Tregurtha has been sailing for over 60 years,
improvements made at different stages in her life have kept the vessel
and her operating technologies up-to-date insuring a long future on the
Great Lakes.
Overall Dimensions (metric) |
Length |
826' 00"
(251.76m) |
Beam |
75' 00"
(22.86m) |
Depth |
39' 00"
(11.89m) |
Capacity (mid-summer) |
29,360
tons (29.832 mt)
at a draft of 28' 01"
(8.56m) |
Power (diesel) |
8,040
b.h.p. (6,000 kW) |

Unloading iron ore at Torco, Toledo, OH,
Dec. 16, 2008. Bob Vincent |

Shifting over to load coal at Toledo.
Bob Vincent |

Loading coal at the CSX Presque Isle dock,
Toledo, Dec. 16, 2008. Bob Vincent |

Lake St. Clair, Aug. 8, 2008.
Alex & Max Mager |

Bow profile. Alex & Max Mager |

Stern view. Alex & Max Mager |

At Marquette, MI, Apr. 30, 2008.
Lee Rowe |

Loading at Two Harbors, MN, June 22, 2008.
Mike Sipper |

Upbound the St. Marys River at Mission Point,
Aug. 3, 2008. Stephen Hause |
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|
Boatnerd Raffle Grand Prize Trip
- July, 2007
Grand Prize winner Keith Grant-Davie elected to take his
trip
on the Lee A. Tregurtha with fellow Boatnerds Angie, Mary and
Barry.
Their trip was from Detroit to Toledo, then to Essexville,
Marquette and back to Detroit.
Click the thumbnail for a Photo Gallery of their adventures. |

Mary, Keith, Angie & Barry at
Marquette,
July 22, 2007. Lee Rowe |
|

At Marquette with Kaye E Barker in the
background,
Dec. 24, 2006. Rod Burdick |

Marquette with the chutes down, Dec. 9,
2006.
Rod Burdick |

Wide view, Dec. 9, 2006. Lee Rowe |

Downbound the St. Clair River, Nov. 2006.
Roger LeLievre |

Passing the docked Voyageur Pioneer at Sarnia.
Roger LeLievre |

Marquette in the snow, Nov. 5, 2006.
Lee Rowe |

Loading at Escanaba, MI, Oct. 5, 2006.
Rod Burdick |

Another view. Rod Burdick |

Up the Rouge River, Detroit, MI, Oct., 2006.
Tom Welles |

At Bay Ship Building, Sturgeon Bay, WI,
Sept. 24, 2006 after installation of her new diesels.
David & Jennifer Borzymowski |

Another view. David & Jennifer Borzymowski |

Escanaba, MI Oct. 2, 2006. Dick Lund |

Painting the stack on the ground, June 8, 2006.
Dick Lund |

Stackless stern view. Dick Lund |

From across the bay. Dick Lund |

Loading at Stoneport, MI, Dec. 2005.
Ben & Chanda McClain |

Close up. Ben & Chanda McClain |

Bow view. Ben & Chanda McClain |

Bow view at Marquette, Aug. 6, 2005.
Lee Rowe |

"Dragging the hook" off Marquette, Oct., 2005.
Lee Rowe |

Marquette, Dec. 8, 2005. Lee Rowe |

Upbound the Detroit River, June 13, 2005.
Mike Nicholls |

Stern view. Mike Nicholls |

Preparing to load at Marquette, June 15, 2005
Rod Burdick |

Stern view on the Rouge River, Detroit,
Apr. 19, 2005. Mike Nicholls |
wps_small.jpg)
Passing the Canadian Transport on the Rouge River, May 22, 2005.
Wade P. Streeter |
wps_small.jpg)
Close up on the Rouge. Wade P. Streeter |

Off Marquette, Oct. 23, 2004. Lee Rowe |

Winter on the Rouge River, Jan. 8, 2005.
Mike Nicholls |

Rouge River, Apr. 19, 2005. Mike Nicholls |

St. Marys River, Sept. 5, 2004.
Roger LeLievre |

Detroit River, Sept. 21, 2004. Mike Nicholls |

Stern view. Mike Nicholls |
 Unloading coal in Marquette,
May 28, 2002.
Lee Rowe |
 Close up of the unloading hopper. Lee Rowe |
 Loading in Marquette. Lee Rowe |
 Close up. Lee Rowe |
 Deck view. Lee Rowe |
 Duluth. Glenn
Blaszkiewicz |
 Lake Huron Cut at Port Huron. Clayton Sharrard |
 Wide view. Clayton Sharrard |
 St. Marys River 200. Todd L. Davidson |
 Rouge River. Dave Marcoux
|
 Rouge Steel Lay-up. Don Coles |
 Rouge Steel,
Sept. 1, 2001. Mike Nicholls |
 Rouge River,
Apr. 20, 2002. Mike Nicholls |
 Outbound Erie, Pa,
Mar. 30, 2002. Jeff Thoreson |

Winter lay-up. Dick Lund |
_small.jpg) Arriving with limestone, Duluth ship canal, 8:30 A.M. Tues. Aug.
27, 2002. Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) Unloading Lime Stone.
|
_small.jpg) Close up of the Tregurtha's campaign ribbons. Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) View forward from the conveyorman's post. Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) Cleaning the holds. Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) Capt. Nuzzo finesses the bow and stern thrusters as Tregurtha, now in
ballast, backs out of the stone dock in a high wind. |
_small.jpg) View aft as the fuel dock falls astern. Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) View from the unloading tackle as we approach the DM&IR ore dock in
Duluth. Chris Winters |
 Tucking in under the chutes, around 7:00 P.M.
Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) Handling lines at DM&IR. Chris Winters |
_small.jpg) Loading taconite for the Rouge 8:00 P.M. Tuesday, August 27,
2002. Chris
Winters |

Upbound at the Soo flying the
christening flag.
John Belliveau |
|

As the Chiwawa. (US Navy) |