1908                                  Harry A. Berwind                                  1981

Steel Great Lakes bulk freighter

Built at Ecorse MI by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Hull 40
Keel laid Dec 12, 1907; launched March 21, 1908

556’9” LOA, 532’ LBP, 58’ beam, 31’ depth
1 deck, arch cargo hold construction, hatches @ 12’, coal-fired boilers, triple expansion engine, 1800 IHP

Enrolled at Detroit MI April 15, 1908 (#52)
532.0 x 58.3 x 32.0, 6634 GT, 4927 NT     US 205072     to:
Great Lakes Engineering Works

Entered service April 24, 1908

Reenrolled May 6, 1908 (#38) to:
Mutual Steamship Co., Duluth MN, G. A. Tomlinson, Mgr. (home port Duluth MN)

Sold Nov 4, 1916 to Headwaters Steamship Co. Cleveland OH, Harvey H. Brown & Co., Mgr.
(home port to Fairport OH) and named Harvey H. Brown  (2) 1917

Transferred 1928 to Stewart Furnace Co.

Sold 1929 to Youngstown Steamship Co., Cleveland OH, Pickands Mather & Co., Mgr.

Fleet transferred 1930 to Interlake Steamship Co.

Home port to Wilmington DE 1932

Rebuilt 1955
Remeasured to 6841 GT, 5173 NT

Laid up at end of 1960 season at Erie PA and did not operate again for this fleet.

Sold for scrap 1963 to Marine Salvage Ltd. Port Colborne ON.

Resold 1964 to Hindman Transportation Co., Owen Sound ON (home port to London England) and renamed Parker Evans.
Enrolled British at 541.5 x 58.3 x 26.6, 7815 GT, 5735 NT     Br 306052

Enrollment transferred to Canada 1965     Can 306052     (home port to Owen Sound ON)

Boilers converted 1965 to oil firing

Sank str. Sidney E. Smith Jr. June 5, 1972 off Port Huron MI, St. Clair River.  Downbound with cargo of grain from Thunder Bay ON, Smith upbound with partial cargo of coal for the Northwestern-Hanna Fuel Co. bunker fuel dock at Lime Island MI, St. Marys River.  Repaired at St. Catharines ON by Port Weller Dry Docks Ltd. and returned to service later that month.  (This accident caused a major tieup of navigation in the St. Clair River and resulted in a number of changes in the rules for navigation through the Huron Cut at the head of the river.)

Fleet sold 1978 to Quebec & Ontario Transportation Co., Thorold ON

Renamed Marlhill 1979

During fitout at Toronto ON in early spring 1980 a crack was discovered in one boiler which was determined not to be economically justified to repair.

Sold 1981 with sister str. Lac des Iles for grain storage in Mexico.  The vessels cleared Quebec QC in May 1981 towed by Canadian tug Irving Birch for Tampico Mexico.  Vessel foundered May 30 off Cape Charles VA (Lac des Iles foundered the next day off Cape Henry VA)

IMO 5143560

See history in Scanner April and May 1997 (#235)
Also in Great Lakes Ships We Remember III p. 116

 

0808