Roger Blough 533062

Construction of the “Roger Blough” began in 1968 by the American Ship Building Co., of Lorain, Ohio. The keel of the bow was laid on September 3, 1968, and launched Dec. 21. The bow section was floated into the new drydock on July 25, 1970. The official launch was scheduled for July, 1971, but was delayed until 1972. On June 24, 1971, the vessel erupted in flames due to an engine room fire resulting in the death of four workers. The cause of the fire remains a mystery. The steel propeller vessel was owned by United States Steel Corp. of Duluth, Minnesota. She was first enrolled in May/June 1972. On January 11, 1973, while maneuvering through ice in the Straits of Mackinac, she struck the stern of “Philip R. Clarke.” Repairs were made by the American Ship Building Co. the following winter. From September 1981 until September 1987, she was laid up at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, due to her specific design and the economy. She collided with a foreign freighter in Chicago on April 23, 1994, and a pier at the Soo in August 2000. Repairs were made during winter of 2000-2001. In August 2006, she lost a rudder and anchored in the lower St. Marys River, near Raber Bay off Lime Island, while on route to Gary, Indiana. She is currently owned by Great Lakes Fleet, Inc., of Duluth, a derivative of the original company that owned her. The “Roger Blough” is the largest traditional styled vessel traveling the Great Lakes constructed (from the keel up) on the Great Lakes