Capsize of the Transatlantic

On April 10, 1965, the Poseidon Lines freighter Transatlantic was inbound on the St. Lawrence Seaway just below Sorel. Having just departed Sorel, the outgoing freighter Hermes made way for the incoming Transatlantic in the Lac Saint-Pierre area, but Hermes seems to have strayed into shallow water. The latter's stern got sucked toward the shore, which sent her bow out into the incoming channel and caused her to strike Transatlantic on the port side. 

Photo of Transatlantic, © Frans Kerkhof, from Shipspotting.com.

According to Shipspotting.com, "Transatlantic was heavily damaged, burst into flames, and was soon on the bottom of the river. Three lives were lost on the latter ship while Hermes suffered considerable bow damage and ultimately had to go to Montreal for bow repairs."  

Viewed from astern, the now burning Transatlantic is under the care of  two tugs, with Marine Industries Ltd.'s Capitaine Simard in the foreground. The tug in the background is probably George M. McKee. Firefighters can be seen here working aft of the superstructure.

The tugs in the above photo belong to Marine Industries Limited (MIL), and Mac Mackay had mentioned them in his Tugfax blog here (Capitaine Simard) and here (George M McKee).

Efforts to save the ship were unsuccessful, and Transatlantic ended up capsizing to port, and sank to the bottom with her starboard side exposed above the surface. 

Transatlantic lying on her port side with the passing Saguenay Lines freighter Sunrise in the background. You can see the fire-charred paint on the bridge of the former. There is a petroleum slick enveloping the bow of the ship.

Viewed from forward, the ship's bilge keels and a set of empty lifeboat davits can be seen.

This time viewed from aft, the empty lifeboat davits can also be seen in this photo.

Looking forward from the bridge, you can see a deck cargo of drums, which may explain why the ship caught on fire after the collision (or maybe the just contributed to the fire). 

A man stands forward of the bridge on the side of the capsized ship, with fire-charred paint on the superstructure visible to the left of the photo.

A group of men stands on the side of the bridge superstructure.

Tugs in the background appear to be approaching the capsized Transatlantic.

Looking at the photos on the Mariner's Weather Log website, the bow of Hermes was fairly sharp and protruded well beyond the waterline, and the post-salvage photo shows there is significant damage to Transatlantic's superstructure. In addition, where the post-salvage photo does not clearly show damage to the hull (though any hole may have been patched in order to refloat the ship) and the pre-sinking photo above shows the ship initially heeling to starboard, I wonder if it was the firefighting efforts that caused the capsize to port.

While the photos in this post (except where indicated) are from the Foundation Maritime / AECON collection, I have been unable to determine if Foundation Maritime was actually involved in the salvage operation, and I have not even found mention of any firm connected with the work. Transatlantic herself was determined to be a constructive total loss, and she was broken up in Sorel in 1967. 

For more information, the websites listed below have additional information on the incident and its aftermath, along with more photos of the ship both before and after the sinking. In addition, the Bowling Green State University site has information on the tug Capitaine Simard.

Additional Sources:

Mariner's Weather Log website

Shipspotting.com

Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University

Foundation Maritime: Salvaging HMCS QUINTE

Commissioned on August 30, 1941, the Bangor-class minesweeper HMCS QUINTE was essentially brand new and had undergone a recent refit in Lunenburg in late 1942 when she ran aground and had to be "beached" - at some point she seems to have additionally capsized and sunk in the St. Peter's Canal. Foundation Maritime deployed to salvage the wreck, but winter apparently set in and the canal froze over before work could begin in earnest.

QUINTE lies on her side in the frozen waters of the St. Peter's Canal. The salvage operation has begun, and righting masts with block and tackle have been set up on the pier to begin righting the ship. This photo looks to the south.

The salvage operation began with the ship up against the sea wall on the east side of the canal entrance. The ship was lying on her port side with the bow pointed to the north, up into the canal.

Looking to the north, a man stands on a gangway rigged from the pier to the wreck. Tackle rigged to the righting masts is already connected to the ship.

The ship is sitting on the bottom in these photos, and her exposed sides and deck would have been subject to the rise and fall of the tides - with all the ice present, this probably contributed to scouring paint from the hull.

QUINTE still on her side, with her starboard lifeboat davits pointing up into the air. The ground is still covered in snow in this image.

The tug that supported the operation at this stage was the Saint-class Ocean Eagle - a Canadian Government asset at this time, and formerly Royal Navy tug St. Arvans, she had been placed under the operational control of Foundation Maritime during the war.

Though ice remains in the canal, snow cover on the ground itself is receding, and Foundation Maritime has managed to maneuver the crane barge Foundation Scarboro into position alongside the now-righted wreck. Operated during the war by Foundation Maritime, the government tug Ocean Eagle can be seen to the right of the image. Foundation Scarboro's shear legs are in the stowed position in this photo - folded down onto the deck on the right side of the barge.

The masts and tackle are still in position after righting the wreck, though she has not yet been refloated. If is hard to tell if the wreck has already been relocated, or if some of the photos have been reversed, because she is now port side-to the pier as opposed to starboard side-to in the previous photos. I am assuming they would not have relocated the righting masts, so I believe this photo is mirrored - the opposite side of the canal in this photo should be the west side.

Once QUINTE was back on a more or less even keel, she was refloated. Presumably Foundation Scarboro's participation would have been critical to this state of the operation.

Now refloated, QUINTE is rafted outside Foundation Scarboro on the west side of the canal entrance, the latter with her shear legs now deployed. Ocean Eagle can be seen in the background. The righting masts can still be seen erected on the east (near) side of the canal.

Apart from the removal of a minesweeper wreck, this end of the St. Peter's Canal hasn't changed that much over the years - the sea wall is still there, and you can see the knuckles in the edge in these Google Map Streetview images to locate the action all those years ago. In fact, the house in the background appearing between the shear legs on Foundation Scarboro still appears in the Streetview image here. 

QUINTE alongside Foundation Scarboro on the west side of the canal. The house in the background right of the image still exists and can be seen in the Google Streetview link above.

A close-up of the now-refloated QUINTE, looking rather the worse for wear after her ordeal. This is the starboard side of the ship, which would have been exposed to tidal action and ice, and presumably the paint has been partially scoured off - although I am unable to immediately find a photo of QUINTE taken before her sinking, so I don't know what her paint scheme would have been - but the camouflage applied during the war tended to consist of lighter colours in order to blend in on the horizon.

After completing the salvage operation in 1943, QUINTE was towed to the Foundation Maritime-operated Pictou Shipyard, where she was repaired by 1944, and then she spent the rest of the war as a training ship attached to the HMCS CORNWALLIS training base in Digby, NS. Although the Bangors had been built with enclosed bridges, it would appear that QUINTE's new training role demanded an open bridge modeled along the lines of the Flower-class corvette, and she appears to have received a new armament outfit as well, at least as compared to her contemporary sisterships.

In 1946, she briefly operated with the Naval Research Establishment in Halifax, but paid off by October 25th of that year. All this might seem like a lot of work for little return, as QUINTE was scrapped in Sydney, NS, in 1947. But then, salt water has a bad effect on electrical wiring, and perhaps problems were beginning to surface - certainly, if her history was known, she would not have been among the first to be purchased by other navies after the war.

The entire incident seems to have been relatively unknown, to the extent that at least one RCN ship historian wasn't even sure that it had occurred - until I was able to produce the photos. And the only reason I myself had the photos was because I was able to access the archives of the Foundation Company of Canada in Toronto, thanks to the kind assistance of Harold Beswick, who combed the archives, collected anything he found of interest and couriered it to me in Nova Scotia, and then received it back when I was finished scanning it. I learned just last week that Harold passed away on April 10th, at the age of 87. So if you've read this and enjoyed it, please say a little thank-you to Harold.

Salvage of the Maurienne

On the 7th of February in 1942, the master of the 3,259 GRT freighter Maurienne was dealing with some frozen pipes in one of the holds. He subsequently directed a worker to use an acetylene torch to thaw said pipes, and a fire later erupted in that same location. When conventional efforts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, the master ordered the scuttling of his vessel, which in turn resulted in the almost total loss of the cargo after she capsized at the pier (as noted on page 21 of International Maritime Conventions: Volume 1, which also details a legal action brought against the shipping firm by the owners of three crates and one drum of shoe leather). 

Built in Denmark in 1938 as a refrigerated vessel to transport bananas, and only taken over by the Canadian Government at the beginning of the war, Maurienne was a new vessel . Coupled with the fact that the 324-foot vessel was also blocking the use of a portion of Pier 27/28 in the wartime Port of Halifax, her salvage would presumably have been a priority, and therefore she was subsequently salvaged by Foundation Maritime. 

The capsized freighter Maurienne.

Another view of the capsized ship, with the superstructure facing the pier. I'm assuming these photos were taken right after the sinking, such that reserve air in the hull was keeping the hull barely afloat, as later images suggest the hull was farther below the surface during the salvage work, and these photos do not appear to me to have been taken at low tide.

The salvage of the Maurienne was undertaken by Foundation Maritime in two main phases: righting, and then refloating. To begin, at least two cofferdams were constructed on the side of the ship to allow work to continue in the dry - two righting masts had to be attached to the side of the ship.

By June 24, 1942, Cofferdam #2 was ready to accept the righting mast. The two legs of the righting mast will go into the two openings marked with an "X". The "No.1" in the corner of the image refers to the image number, and not that of the cofferdam (which I got from the image caption).

A pontoon supports a diving platform alongside Cofferdam #2 - the platform seems to be slung from the two arms. At least two divers sit in their suits on the platform. 

Cofferdam #1 (background, with mast installed) and Cofferdam #2 (foreground). A support pontoon lies alongside each cofferdam, presumably carrying the pumps to keep each cofferdam dry. Foundation Scarboro, without her shear legs installed, is to the left of the image.

Foundation Scarboro starting to lift the righting mast into place in Cofferdam #2.

The righting mast being installed in Cofferdam #2.

Workers help drop the righting mast into place within Cofferdam #2, as seen from atop the rotating crane cab on Foundation Scarboro.

Cofferdam #1 with the righting mast installed. A bridge (without railings!) extends back to the Pier at the right of the photo. So much for Health and Safety.

Righting masts installed, but with cofferdams removed, to show how the masts are attached to the side of the ship.

By July 26, 1942, the ship was ready to be righted. Tension was taken up on the cables attached to the two righting masts, and the ship was slowly righted. Presumably the hull was anchored to the bottom in some manner to ensure the hull rotated, and was not simply pulled away from the pier. 

Note: Mac Mackay of Shipfax was kind enough to tell me that this type of salvage is properly referred to as "parbuckle salvage", or "parbuckling". The "righting masts" as I call them above are properly called "bents".

Righting the Maurienne.

Just past 45 degrees.

Once righted, there was a release of air trapped in the ship.

Righted, but not yet refloated.

Believe it or not, this appears to have been the easy part of the salvage. Maurienne was still sitting on the bottom of Halifax Harbour, and needed to be refloated. Foundation Maritime elected to build a new, larger, cofferdam around the majority of the ship's deck. The cofferdam extended above the surface of the water at high tide (you can see the stains from the tidal cycles on the side of the cofferdam) so that the interior of the ship could be pumped out. 

Construction of the new cofferdam proceeds around a forward mast, ahead of the bridge which appears to the left of the image.

The view from inside the cofferdam, taken looking forward from aft of the funnel. To the right is a wooden frame that appears to be used to handle a couple of pumps. This may have been positioned over one of the ship's holds. 

The view from the deck of the ship itself, within the cofferdam.

Two of the Jaeger engines used during the salvage - I'm assuming these were diesel engines used to power centrifugal pumps.

The pumping operation is underway, and a deckhouse at the stern has just broken the surface.

Pumps running from inside a cofferdam to bring Maurienne to the surface.

Pumping continues. Taken on the port side this time, the ship's nameboards can be seen displaying "Maurienne". 

The cofferdam support framework on the starboard side next to the funnel, with the pumps running.

Some of the array of pumps that was used to bring Maurienne back to the surface. 

In conjunction with the pumping operation, barges with shear legs also appear to have been lifting at the bow, ahead of the cofferdam. These may have helped to keep the ship on an even keel during the refloating operation.

Pumps running from the cofferdam, with the bow gunwale appearing to the right. The barges with shear legs can also been seen lifting here. 

Returning to the surface, though still with a list to starboard.

With pumps still running, Maurienne arriving at the surface. The deckhouse from Image #120 above can be seen here, just behind the cofferdam.

In November of 1942, while Maurienne was once again afloat, work was ongoing and the ship still looked much the worse for wear.

The refloated Maurienne. What I assume are the remains of the attachments for Righting Mast #1 can be seen just above the waterline just forward of the bridge.

Maurienne from aft.

After the war ended, Maurienne was returned to her original owners and refitted once against for refrigerated cargo. She was sold several times after 1953 (and renamed), and suffered another fire in 1963 in Hong Kong that led to her scrapping.

The entire gallery of photos of the salvage operation can be seen here:

https://smcclearn.smugmug.com/Nautical/Foundation-Maritime-storage/4064-Maurienne/n-xh3bMC/i-4WGpSCS/A

Some of the photos appearing here came with captions explaining the procedure, but most did not, and I have interpreted (e.g. guessed) them to the best of my ability.

Bibliography & Acknowledgements:

Berlingieri, Francesco. (2014). "International Maritime Conventions: Volume 1 - The Carriage of Goods and Passengers by Sea". Informa Law, New York.

Bertke, Donald A; Smith, Gordon; Kindell, Don. (2013). "World War II Sea War - Volume 5". Bertke Publications, Dayton, Ohio, USA. Viewed online.

Nova Scotia Marine Heritage Wreck Database

Wrecksite.eu https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?35482

Photos from the AECON collection.

Salvage of the Maplebranch

On August 13th 1934, the Royal Navy's Danae-class cruiser HMS DRAGON was entering the Market Basin in the Port of Montreal. While trying to avoid contact with a third vessel, the also-maneuvering Saguenay Trader, DRAGON came into contact with the oil bunkering tanker Maplebranch, causing the latter to sink. At least, that was the defence provided by DRAGON's commanding officer, Frederic Wake-Walker, when he was later sued (successfully) by Maplebranch's owners. 

A partially-sunken Maplebranch sitting alongside in the Market Basin, with the offending HMS DRAGON in the background.

Maplebranch viewed from aft. 

The salvage was contracted to Foundation Maritime. Already sitting on the bottom and completely full of water, the salvage was somewhat involved. As the wreck was taking up valuable space in the port, there would presumably have been considerable pressure to remove it quickly. 

Salvage crews went about building a cofferdam around the ship so that the wreck could be pumped out and re-floated. 

With a cofferdam constructed around the aft end of Maplebranch, pumping begins. 

A barge consisting of a platform constructed on two large pontoons supports what I assume is an air compressor used in the salvage.

Another view of the cofferdam around the aft end of the ship and ongoing pumping operations.

Maplebranch returning to the surface as pumping continues.

The view from the other side of the channel. The deep sea salvage tug Foundation Franklin can be seen to the right of the image, behind Maplebranch. 

Once refloated, Maplebranch was taken in tow by two smaller harbour tugs.

Maplebranch now afloat, and being moved by two tugs.

Unfortunately, I am unable to find any further online information on Maplebranch herself, neither photos of her from before the sinking, nor whether she returned to service after this incident or was subsequently scrapped. 

In searching, however, I did learn about HMS DRAGON's then-commander, Frederic Wake-Walker. (links go to Wikipedia). The collision with Maplebranch did not end his career; on the contrary, from 1938-39 he was in command of the battleship HMS REVENGE, and he achieved flag rank as rear-admiral commanding the 12th Cruiser Squadron. He was later appointed rear-admiral in command of all vessels off the Franco-Belgium coast during the evacuation of Dunkirk, and later still was appointed commander of the 1st Cruiser Squadron, during which time he was deeply involved in the hunt for the Bismarck. He was promoted to admiral in May 1945, but died unexpectedly in September of that same year. 

Unconnected to all of this, but of local interest, REVENGE was a frequent visitor to Halifax over the years, and in 1940 (under a subsequent commander) she managed to run down (and sink) the Battle-class trawler HMCS YPRES, then being used as a gate vessel for opening and closing the submarine nets across the mouth of the harbour.