The Venerable Steam Barge Lloyd S. Porter
By James Donahue
When launched at Port Huron, Michigan in 1893, the wooden hulled steam barge Lloyd S. Porter was designed
to be a bulk cargo carrier and nothing more. At 159 feet in length, the Porter was one of a fleet of carriers operating on
the Great Lakes in those years that carried lumber, iron ore, coal and other bulk cargos.
The demand for small wooden carriers was high at that time because of the many small lake port towns
that could not accommodate larger steel hulled vessels.
The Jenks Shipyard built the Porter, and then an affiliate company, the Jenks Shipping Company operated
the vessel as a lumber hooker, often towing a string of barges loaded with lumber.
The Porter was a simple boat, with its forecastle located in the bow, a small pilothouse resting on
top of that, and an open bridge. The engine room was in the stern, and the cargo holds were amidships. It was a simple design
that was used in building lake freighters for years.
The Porter operated without incident for the first five years, but then it was pressed into ocean
service when the Spanish American War broke out. While steaming down the St. Lawrence River, on her way to the open sea, however,
the Porter and an up-bound vessel, the steamer Turret Age collided near Ste. Croix, just up river from Quebec. The Porter
was struck across her bows and sunk. Only her masts and wheel house were above water. The crew escaped.
A Canadian wrecking company, the Donnelly Wrecking and Salvage Company of Kingston, raised the Porter
and towed it to dry-dock where it was rebuilt. At that time the ownership of the Porter went to the Ontario and Quebec Navigation
Company Ltd., of Picton, Ontario. The steamer then carried coal for its Canadian owners for the next 12 years.
It was on October 13, 1912, that the Porter got in trouble a second time. She was down-bound on Lake
Erie, laden with coal, and towing the schooner barge Marengo, when the two vessels ran aground in heavy fog on Morgan’s
Point, just off Port Colborne. The Porter was successfully refloated and sustained no serious damage. But the Marengo was
wrecked in heavy seas before salvagers could free it.
The Ontario and Quebec Navigation Company was purchased by a Toronto syndicate and later absorbed
into the new Canada Transportation Company in 1913. That company then became the Canada Steamship Lines. The little Porter,
now an aging steamer, became part of that Canadian fleet.
That ownership did not last long. On September 13 of that same year, the Porter and the bulk carrier
Fairfax collided head-on while navigating the Welland Canal. The Porter was down-bound at the time, bound for Montreal with
another load of coal, and it sank in the canal. The Fairfax took severe bow damage but remained afloat.
Probably because it was an obstacle in a busy canal, the Reid Wrecking Company of Sarnia was brought
to the scene. The old Porter was raised and once again taken to dry-dock for repairs and an extensive refit. This time it
returned to service under the ownership of the Sincennes-McNaughton Line of Montreal. And the Porter continued carrying coal
as part of what was nick-named the Sin-Mac fleet.
The Porter’s 25-year career on the lakes came to a dramatic end on May 10, 1017, when it burned
while docked at a coal trestle at North Fairhaven, New York. The Porter took fire while loading coal and the fire spread to
another wooden steam barge the Congercoal, which was moored along-side. Both vessels were destroyed.
"Kama vile ""The Venerable Steam Barge"" (Lloyd S. Porter) ilivyotengenezwa na James Donahue, meli hiyo ilitengenezwa kwa mbao na ilikuwa na sehemu ya chini ya ardhi na ilikuwa na sehemu ya chini ya ardhi." Meli hiyo ilikuwa na urefu wa futi 155, na ilikuwa mojawapo ya meli za kubebea mizigo zilizokuwa zikisafiri kwenye Maziwa Makuu wakati huo, zikibeba mbao, madini ya chuma, makaa ya mawe, na mizigo mingine. Wakati huo, meli ndogo za mbao zilikuwa zinahitajika sana kwa sababu kulikuwa na miji mingi midogo ya bandari iliyokuwa na maziwa ambayo haingeweza kubeba meli kubwa zenye mifupa ya chuma. Jenks Shipyard ilijenga Porter, na kisha kampuni ya washirika, Jenks Shipping Company iliendesha chombo hicho kama hooker ya mbao, mara nyingi kuvuta safu ya barges zilizojaa mbao. Meli hiyo ilikuwa rahisi, ilikuwa na kifaa cha mbele kilichokuwa kwenye sehemu ya mbele ya meli, na chumba kidogo cha majaribio kilichokuwa juu ya kifaa hicho, na daraja lililo wazi. Chumba cha injini kilikuwa upande wa nyuma, na vyumba vya mizigo vilikuwa katikati ya meli. Ilikuwa muundo rahisi ambao ulitumiwa katika kujenga meli za kubebea mizigo za ziwa kwa miaka mingi. Porter ilifanya kazi bila matatizo kwa miaka mitano ya kwanza, lakini kisha ilihamishwa kwenye huduma ya baharini wakati Vita vya Hispania na Marekani vilipotokea. "Mara moja, wakati wa safari ya baharini, meli ya ""Porter"" na meli ya ""Turret Age"" iligongana karibu na St." Croix, juu tu ya mto kutoka Quebec. Meli ya Porter iligongwa na kuzama. Matofali yake na nyumba ya magurudumu tu ndiyo yaliyokuwa juu ya maji. Wafanyakazi wa meli hiyo walikimbia. Kampuni ya kuharibu meli ya Kanada, Donnelly Wrecking and Salvage Company ya Kingston, iliboresha meli ya Porter na kuibeba hadi kwenye bandari kavu ambapo ilijengwa upya. Wakati huo umiliki wa Porter ulienda kwa Ontario na Quebec Navigation Company Ltd., ya Picton, Ontario. Meli hiyo ilibeba makaa ya mawe kwa ajili ya wamiliki wake wa Kanada kwa miaka 12 iliyofuata. Mnamo Oktoba 13, 1912, meli ya Porter iliingia katika matatizo kwa mara ya pili. Meli hiyo ilikuwa ikisafiri kwenye Ziwa Erie, ikiwa imejaa makaa ya mawe, na ilikuwa ikivuta mashua ya Marengo, wakati meli hizo mbili zilipogonga kwenye ukungu mkubwa kwenye Morgan's Point, karibu na Port Colborne. Meli ya Porter ilifungwa tena na haikuharibiwa sana. Lakini meli ya Marengo iliharibiwa na bahari yenye msukosuko kabla ya waokoaji kuweza kuikomboa. Kampuni ya Ontario na Quebec Navigation Company ilinunuliwa na shirika la Toronto na baadaye kuingizwa katika Kampuni mpya ya Usafiri ya Canada mnamo 1913. Kampuni hiyo baadaye ikawa Canada Steamship Lines. Meli ndogo ya Porter, ambayo sasa ilikuwa meli ya mvuke iliyokuwa ikizidi kuzeeka, ikawa sehemu ya meli hiyo ya Kanada. Umiliki huo haukudumu kwa muda mrefu. Mnamo Septemba 13, mwaka huohuo, meli ya Porter na meli ya Fairfax iligongana huku ikisafiri kwenye Mfereji wa Welland. Wakati huo, meli ya Porter ilikuwa ikisafiri kuelekea Montreal ikiwa na mzigo mwingine wa makaa ya mawe, na ilizama katika mfereji huo. Meli ya Fairfax iliharibiwa sana kwenye kiunzi cha meli hiyo lakini iliendelea kuelea. Yaelekea kwa sababu ilikuwa kizuizi katika mfereji wenye shughuli nyingi, Kampuni ya Uharibifu ya Reid ya Sarnia ililetwa mahali hapo. Meli ya zamani ya Porter ilifanywa kuwa kubwa na kupelekwa tena kwenye bandari kavu ili kurekebishwa na kurekebishwa kwa kiasi kikubwa. Wakati huu alirudi kwa huduma chini ya umiliki wa Sincennes-McNaughton Line ya Montreal. Na meli ya Porter iliendelea kubeba makaa ya mawe ikiwa sehemu ya meli iliyoitwa Sin-Mac. Meli hiyo ilichukua miaka 25 na iliharibika mnamo Mei 10, 1017 wakati ilipokuwa ikisimamishwa kwenye bandari ya makaa ya mawe huko North Fairhaven, New York. Meli hiyo ilianza kuwaka moto ilipokuwa ikibeba makaa ya mawe na moto huo ukaenea kwenye meli nyingine ya mbao inayoitwa Congercoal, iliyokuwa imefungwa kando ya meli hiyo. Meli zote mbili ziliharibiwa.