| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Windoc |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | Schlieker shipyard,Hamburg |
| Yard number | 533 |
| Launched | 11 April 1959 |
| Completed | July 1959 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5293872 |
| Fate | Broken up in 2011 |
| General characteristics (as laker) | |
| Type | Laker |
| Tonnage | |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 23.1 m (75 ft 9 in) |
| Propulsion | 1diesel engine, 1 shaft |
| Speed | 14.5 kn (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
MSWindoc was alake freighter or laker, initially constructed as an ocean-goingbulk carrier inWest Germany in 1959. Entering service that year asRhine Ore, the ship was renamedSteelcliffe Hall in 1977 and reconstructed as a laker. In 1988 the laker was renamedWindoc and in 2001, was involved in a collision with a bridge on theWelland Canal which caused the ship to catch fire. The ship was declared a constructive total loss. While undergoing repairs inOntario, the ship broke free of its moorings andgrounded. Later pulled free, the vessel was eventually converted into abarge.
Windoc was initially constructed as the bulk carrierRhine Ore.[1] As a bulk carrier the ship had agross register tonnage of 8,202 tons and adeadweight tonnage of 19,918 tons. The ship measured 166.4 metres (545 ft 11 in)overall and 157.5 metres (516 ft 9 in)between perpendiculars with abeam of 22.6 metres (74 ft 2 in). The ship was powered by onediesel engine and had a maximum speed of 14.5knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph).[2]
TheRhine Ore was part of a class of 8 sisterships (Ems Ore,Rhine Ore,Ruhr Ore,Weser Ore,Clyde Ore,Tees Ore,Thames Ore andTyne Ore).[3] Three of them were purchased by Hall Corp Ltd. ofToronto and rebuilt as lakers.
After the vessel's conversion to a laker, the gross register tonnage increased to 18,531 tons and the deadweight tonnage to 29,050 tons. The length overall of the ship was increased to 222.5 metres (730 ft 0 in) and between perpendiculars to 218 metres (715 ft 3 in). The beam was also increased to 23.1 metres (75 ft 9 in).[2]
Rhine Ore was ordered from the Schlieker shipyard inHamburg, West Germany by Transatlantic Bulk Carriers Inc. with the yard number 533. The vessel waslaunched on 11 April 1959 and completed in July. Registered under aflag of convenience inMonrovia upon entering service,Rhine Ore sailed until sold to Hall Corp Ltd.[2]
The ship was renamedSteelcliffe Hall after the April 1977 sale, it was rebuilt in Canada that year as a laker, with cargo space added forward of the engine room, and the wheelhouse moved aft above the crew accommodation.
After decades of service and changes to the function and structural conversions of the ship, in 1988Steelcliffe Hall was given the nameWindoc (2) after being acquired by N. M. Paterson & Sons Ltd., following the liquidation of the previous owner, Halco.
On 11 August 2001, while traveling through the Welland Canal,Windoc was hit by Bridge 11 inAllanburg, Ontario. The accident caused minor damage to thevertical lift bridge, and destroyed the ship'swheelhouse and funnel. The vessel caught fire, and was later declared a constructive total loss, but there were no reported injuries, no damage to the $6-$8 million cargo, and no pollution to the waterway. The Marine Investigation Report concluded "it is likely that the [vertical lift bridge] operator's performance was impaired while the bridge span was lowered onto the Windoc."[4]
The vessel was towed toHamilton Harbour for repairs, and in March, 2002, it broke free of its moorings in an 80 km/h (50 mph) winter gale, and ran aground 5 km (2.7 nmi) away in about 1.8 metres (6 ft) of water, where it was pulled out by fourtugboats three days later.[5]
N.M. Paterson & Sons left the shipping business the following year, after 87 years, and sued the canal operator, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., for $16.9 million (C). Their remaining four active and three mothballed ships were sold in 2002. The canal operator denied any negligence, and blamed the shipping company and the ship's crew for the accident.[6][7]
A Transport Safety Bureau report on the collision points to the bridge operator and bridge operating procedures and policies as major factors.[4] They also concluded that impairment of the bridge operator was the root cause.
The ship was converted into a storage barge.[2] It was scrapped in 2011 at Port Colborne.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2001 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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