1951 — Oct 29, barge/steamer Penobscot collide, explosion, tug Dauntless fire, Buffalo NY– 11

–11 Kadar, Wayne “Skip”. “Penobscot.” The Lakeshore Guardian, MI, September 2017.
–11 Swayze, David D. Shipwreck!…Directory of…Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. 1992, p. 66.
–11 USCG. Marine Board of Investigation, SS Penobscot, tug M/V Dauntless… 1952, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Kadar: “On October 29, 1951, there was an accident in the crowded harbor of Buffalo, New York. Three ships met, and the result was a massive inferno that closed the harbor, destroyed two vessels, severely damaged another, and killed eleven men.

“The tragedy begins with tug Dauntless No. 12 with the barge Morania No. 130 in tow. The tanker barge towed by the tug took on a cargo of 800,000 gallons of gasoline at Cleveland harbor. The cargo’s destination was Tonawanda, New York, some 180 miles distant.

“The trip wasn’t supposed to be anything out of the ordinary. The route the ships would follow would take them along the south shore of Lake Erie to Buffalo Harbor. There, the tug and its tow would enter the Black Rock Canal and travel up to the Hambleton Terminal where the 800,000 gallons of gasoline would be discharged into shore tanks, just another routine run on the lakes.

“The Dauntless No. 12, an 82-foot tugboat, was owned and operated by the Dauntless Towing Line of New York City. The diesel-driven vessel of 140 tons carried a nine-member crew including Captain Thomas Sorensen, Mate George Van Steenburg, a chief engineer, an assistant engineer, two deckhands, a cook, and an oiler.

“The barge, Morania No. 130, of 1,278 gross tons was 230 feet in length and was owned by Penn No. 5 Incorporated of New York, New York. Onboard the tanker Morania on that October day in 1951 was a crew of two, 29-year-old Captain Lars Stromsland and Mate Olav Gulleksen.

“The barge was constructed so that when she was fully loaded most of her hull was under the water. She only showed three and a half feet of freeboard above the surface.

“Captain Stromsland was anxious to get to Buffalo; his replacement was waiting there. The bargemen worked twenty days on and then had ten days off. He was looking forward to his ten days ashore and out of the brisk October wind….

“Up the Buffalo River, the freighter Penobscot prepared to depart from the Mutual Elevator dock. The freighter had arrived in Buffalo the day before and offloaded its cargo of 200,000 bushels of grain. She now was preparing to depart.

“The Penobscot, a 454-foot grain and automobile carrier owned by the Nicholson Transit Company of Ecorse, Michigan, carried a crew of 30. The ship was one of the largest of the 14 ship Nicholson Transit Company’s fleet….

“The Penobscot’s captain, Louis Guyette, originally from Grindstone City, Michigan, and now residing in the historic maritime river city of Port Huron, had been a sailor on the Great Lakes for 30 years, 20 years as a master with the last four as master of the Penobscot. His ship was leaving the Buffalo River and entering the Buffalo Outer Harbor, and he knew it was a dangerous intersection, where it was difficult to see crossing ship traffic, especially in the dark. Captain Guyette looked out the port glass of the pilothouse, and all he could see were the lights and buildings of the Coast Guard station….

“When about 2,000 feet from the spot where the river meets the outer harbor, wheelsman Richardson sounded one blast on the ship’s whistle, a signal of warning when rounding a bend or any other maneuver where visibility was limited; it was to notify any ships of their presence and their intention of entering the outer harbor.

“On the barge Morania, there were only two crewmembers, Captain Lars Stromsland and his mate Olav Gulleksen. Neither the captain nor his mate had been forward standing watch at the bow of the barge as it entered the intersection. The barge entered the dangerous intersection of the Buffalo River and the outer Buffalo Harbor blindly….

“Even though it was dark, the barge did not display port or starboard, red or green navigational lights at the bow, rather the lights were located aft. In 1951, according to Pilot Rules for Inland Waterways, barges being pushed by a tug only needed to display navigational lights towards the aft of the vessel, not at the bow, a rule that would be changed after the events of October 29, 1951….

“On the Penobscot, Third Mate Kielbasa and Able Body Seaman Albert Reid were in the windlass room at the bow….They heard the captain blow the rounding bend whistle and looked out forward. Stanley noticed something off their port quarter. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized what it was. ‘There’s a ship crossing our bow!’ he screamed.

“Captain Guyette quickly assessed the situation and realized that a collision was possible and sounded the emergency danger signal, a long continuous blast; a sound that strikes fear in the minds of sailors, for it is a sound that all too often is followed by tragedy. ‘Close all portholes, and no smoking!’ Captain Guyette’s order sounded throughout the ship over the PA system.

“All sailors knew that in a collision with a tanker the portholes were to be closed to keep the flammable cargo and fire from entering the ship….

“Captain Guyette threw the pilothouse telegraph to all astern full in an attempt to rapidly slow the forward momentum of the Penobscot and avoid ramming the barge….

“The Penobscot in reverse had not yet slowed enough, the tug and barge could not gain enough speed to pass in front of the freighter, and the massive black bow of the Penobscot smashed into the barge about 30 feet from the barge’s stern. The freighter’s bow was driven three to four feet into the starboard side of the barge bursting tanks numbers 5 and 6.

“A fountain of gasoline three feet wide sprayed in a shower of the volatile liquid from the compressed and ruptured compartments, covering the Dauntless, the bow of the Penobscot, the deck of the barge, and the surface of the river.

“Gasoline vapors filling the air permeated every compartment of the three ships and warned of an impending explosion….

“In seconds, the entire area was a mass of flames…. The night sky was lit in an eerie orange glow as flames climbed to a height of 50 feet….”

USCG: “….On 29 October 1951, the SS Penobscot, a bulk freighter of 3,972 FT, in a light condition was outbound in the Buffalo River and the tug M/V Dauntless No. 12 of 140 FT, pushing the gasoline laden tank barge Morania No. 130 of 1,278 GT, in the Buffalo Outer Harbor was inbound to the Buffalo River. Buffalo Outer Harbor lies in a northwesterly, southeasterly direction and the entrance to the Buffalo River lies in an east-west direction, so that vessels entering from the Outer Harbor into Buffalo River must make a course change in excess of 90⁰. The Penobscot, when approaching the intersection of the Outer Harbor blew a warning band signal. The Dauntless No. 12 with tow, when approaching the intersection of the Outer Harbor and Buffalo River, failed to have a proper lookout posted and failed to blow a warning bane signal. When the Penobscot neared the intersection and the Dauntless No. 12 and tow rounded the intersection of the Buffalo Outer Harbor and the Buffalo River, both vessels, although going at slow speed, were in such close proximity that collision was inevitable. At or about 2120 the Penobscot and tank barge Morania No. 130 collided, two gasoline tanks of the tank barge were ruptured. The resulting gasoline spillage became ignited, engulfing the vessels in flame and caused the loss of life of 11 persons from the vessels involved in the collision including the Master and Wheelsman on board the Penobscot. The weather conditions at the time of this casualty were: visibility good, wind SSW, 20 miles, and no sea. [end of p. 1]
….
“The collision occurred in the Buffalo River, Buffalo New York, where the river meets the Buffalo Outer Harbor at a point just west of the U.S. Coast Guard Base…. [p. 2.]

“The following personnel are dead or missing from the vessels indicated:

SS Penobscot Louis F. Guyette, Master
Roy Richardson, Wheelsman
MV Dauntless No. 12 George Edward Van Steenburg, Mate
Emil Enig, Chief Engineer
Clifford A. Rank, First Assistant
Harold Halt, Deckhand
Alfred Aarseth, Deckhand
Arthur Reilly, Cook
Walter Brown, Oiler
One burned body, not identifiable, found on board the MV
Dauntless No. 12
TB Morania No. 130 Olay Gulleksen, Mate [p. 3.]
….
“Those persons aboard the TB Morania No. 130 and the MV Dauntless No. 12 which were able to escape the flames took to the water where they were subsequently drowned in the blazing inferno….

“It is the Board’s considered opinion that the collision was primarily the fault of the Master of the MV Dauntless No. 12, which with her tow proceeded to enter Buffalo River from a blind spot without first ascertaining whether this was safe due to the possibility of outbound traffic….

“It is the opinion of the Board that the casualty could have been prevented entirely had a warning whistle been sounded by the MV Dauntless No. 12 and a lookout properly posted on the bow of the TB Morania No. 130.

“The Board made the following Recommendations:

“2. It is recommended that proceedings be initiated toward suspending or revoking the license of…[name blacked out] Master of the MV Dauntless No. 12, for gross neglect displayed upon this occasion (46 USC [United States Code], Sec. 239) (RS 4450, (Sec. 9-5-3C MMSM). In this connection a charge of misconduct, alleging two specifications, failure to sound warning whistle, and failure to post proper lookout, have been forwarded to Coast Guard representatives at New York for service upon the accused.” [end of p.6.]

Sources

Kadar, Wayne “Skip”. “Penobscot.” The Lakeshore Guardian, MI, September and October 2017. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: http://www.lakeshoreguardian.com/site/news/1066/Penobscot

Swayze, David D. Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Boyne City, MI: Harbor House Publications, Inc., 1992.

United States Coast Guard. Marine Board of Investigation, SS Penobscot, tug M/V Dauntless No. 12 and tank barge Morania No. 130; collision, Buffalo River, 29 October 1951, with loss of life. Washington, DC: USCG, 3-27-1952. Accessed 11-21-2020 at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/5p/CG-5PC/INV/docs/boards/penobscot.pdf