Freighter issues mayday on Lake Erie after engine fire
Detroit, MI – With its engine on fire, the Cuyahoga — a commercial freighter on Lake Erie — sent out a mayday, the internationally recognized signal for distress, to anyone within range who could help.
“Mayday relay. Mayday relay. Mayday relay,” the Canadian Coast Guard radio blared as it rebroadcast the ship’s plea for aid, adding coordinates and instructions. The guard heard the initial call for help at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. “All stations, all stations, all stations.”
The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, along with other vessels, swung into action. The overnight rescue ended the next day with the 20 crew members aboard safe, and a ship the size of two football fields anchored and damaged about 2 nautical miles northeast of Pelee Island.
On Wednesday evening, the McKeil tug Ecosse was headed for the anchored Cuyahoga. She will tow Cuyahoga to Kingsville, ON, so she can unload her cargo of stone.
In many ways, the nautical mishap is another example of the dangers that sailors face, but hope to never encounter, on the water that often are out of public view. In this case, a small bit of the drama was caught on video and audio, and, Coast Guard Petty Officer Jessica Fontenette in Cleveland said, had a good ending.
“Everybody was fine,” Fontenette told the Free Press early Wednesday. “Of course, there’s always the chance it could have been much worse, but, luckily, they were able to contain the fire and no one was injured, and no one had to abandon ship.”
The rescue team included a Coast Guard helicopter from Detroit that circled the freighter, as it was poised to rescue crew if needed, and recorded the incident from the air.
Still, Fontenette said, bad things happen and that’s why ships call out for help, and everyone who can, responds, so “it doesn’t turn into a tragic event.” A mayday on the water, like a 911 call on land, is something that immediately lets everyone know ‘you are in distress.’
It’s unclear, she said, what caused the fire, how extensive the damage is or how long the freighter — which was carrying a load of stone — would be anchored there. Pelee Island, Canada’s southernmost populated point, is the largest island in the western half of Lake Erie. It is about halfway between Sandusky, Ohio, to the south; and Leamington, Canada, to the north.
Fontenette said that in addition to a Coast Guard helicopter from Detroit, a rescue boat from Marblehead, and three more vessels from the Canadian Coast Guard were dispatched to help. A tugboat, and at least two other freighters —- the Indiana Harbor and Radcliffe R. Latimer — offered assistance.
By Wednesday eight crew members, identified as “non-essential,” were taken off the Cuyahoga, the rest stayed behind on to evaluate the damage and potentially make repairs, the Coast Guard said.
The rescue agency also posted a 10-second clip of the ship, taken at night by the Detroit-stationed helo. It ended its post with “BZ to all involved!” BZ — Bravo Zulu — is a Naval signal conveyed by flag-hoist or voice radio, meaning “well done,” followed by single word: “#interagency.”
Read more, see the clip and hear the scanner traffic at this Detroit Free Press link: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/24/cuyahoga-freighter-mayday-engine-fire-lake-erie-coast-guard/70252496007/
Lake Erie along Pennsylvania’s shoreline on its way to becoming national marine sanctuary
President Joe Biden’s administration took the first step Thursday toward designating the Pennsylvania-owned section of Lake Erie as the state’s first national marine sanctuary.
A formal designation could take several years, and it wouldn’t change existing regulations around the use of the lake. The announcement sets up a public comment period before the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration writes a draft plan for the sanctuary.
The designation would apply to an approximately 740-square-mile (1,917-square-kilometer) area of water off Pennsylvania’s 75 mile-long (120-kilometer-long) shoreline. It would attract federal funding to help find and preserve shipwrecks in the lake and boost education and outreach around the area’s history.
That history includes being home to indigenous people who once lived there, its role as a hub on the Underground Railroad, and a maritime history as hosting the nation’s largest fleet of steamboats before the Civil War. The area possibly includes scores of yet-to-be-discovered shipwrecks, according to NOAA.
There are 35 known shipwrecks in the area, from pre-Civil War steamboats to speedboats, tugs, barges and workboats lost before 1940, the agency said.
There are two other national marine sanctuaries in the Great Lakes and a third in Lake Ontario nearing designation, all focused on shipwrecks. There are 15 total national marine sanctuaries, some of which focus on preserving endangered aquatic life, as well as two marine national monuments.
Erie County first requested the designation in 2015.
Associated Press
Last Week for Early-Bird Pricing for Soo Boatnerd Cruise
Get your tickets for $35 each (adult), before they go up to $40 on June 1. The cruise is half sold-out, so don’t delay if you plan to join us. Get there details here: https://www.boatnerd.com/boatnerd-soo-gathering-june-23-24-2022/
