Ship AMERICAN VICTORY Final Voyage on the Welland Canal
Вставка
- Опубліковано 23 чер 2018
- The AMERICAN VICTORY is seen downbound at Lock 7 on the Welland Canal, June 23, 2018, under her scrap-tow name "Victo", on her final passage through the canal. The ship is on the way to Turkey to be scrapped. Between Port Colborne and Lock 7, the lead tow tug was TIM MCKEIL, and the brake tug was EVANS MCKEIL, with the tug VAC accompanying.
After stopping along the east wall above Lock 7, the larger TIM MCKEIL disengaged from the tow, and carried on downbound in the Flight Locks, to wait for the tow team later below Lock 4. To tow AMERICAN VICTORY through the locks, EVANS MCKEIL took the lead, and VAC acted as the brake tug.
It's interesting to note that the workhorse tug VAC (built in 1942) is the same age as American Victory!!
Originally named Marquette when built, this ship - then a tanker - was transferred to the USN as the Neshanic (AO 71) for service in WW2. It was sold in 1947, renamed as Gulfoil. After a major wreck in 1958, the ship was rebuilt and converted for Great Lakes service as Pioneer Challenger; later renamed Middletown in 1962, and then American Victory in 2006.
Also, the tug EVANS McKEIL was built in 1936 in Panama, originally named "Alhajuela, and was used during the construction of the Panama Canal! Update: Evans McKeil was scrapped in early 2023.
So sad to watch her go to be scrapped. Retired after all her years of service. Thank you for all those years of service. Through videos she will be remembered ❤️
Great old gal, I'll miss her as the MIDDLETOWN! I was honored to crew her!
That ship had quite a history !!
Nice video! I can't imagine how this ship can be towed half way around the world to be scrapped, when we have been putting ships to rest in Port Colborne for decades!
Thanks for documenting this and sharing.
I was on vacation in Sault Ste.Marie, Michigan and I was at the Soo Locks when the ship was going through the Soo Locks named the Middletown.
This video ends on such a cinematic note! Great shooting and great editing! Thank you for all this footage for those of us who couldn't be there to see her go.
Thank you very much. I appreciate that. My intent in my small way was to document this once-in-a lifetime event, so that others in the future could just see a small part of this shp's last voyage, to see how it was, how it looked.
So sad to see these old timers get scrapped. Beautiful ships that put in decades of hard work through rough water and ice. So sad
What a shame this ship being scrapped, i have seen her many times over the years going down the St Clair River when she was named Middletown, now my opinion is this ship should have been restored and preserved to make a museum out of it especially due to all of her history ,she will be gone but never forgotten by many ship lovers thank you for uploading this footage
Thanks. I feel the same way.
I empathize with your feelings. Ideally, she would have become a museum and could have told her story of both wartime service and lake service. And in that ideal world, ten of thousands would have flocked to visit her every year. But the sad reality is that it's tough going for the museum ships that currently exist on the Great Lakes. There are museum ships in Duluth, Superior, Cleveland, Toledo, and Sault Ste. Marie... and none of those are particularly raking in the cash. Plus, the upkeep costs on these ships is extensive.
I'd love to see the Edward Ryerson and Arthur Anderson become museums once their days of hauling are over (which may already be the case for the Ryerson). But that will depend on whether there are any cities in the Great Lakes that can support hosting one of these ships as a museum. In the end, I think we'll be lucky to retain the few museum ships we already have.
Watched this come into Duluth in very dense fog about 10 years ago, a sight I will never forget
Here is one tired old ship! Time served- and ready for a long rest!
Long, and VERY well-deserved.
Living on Lake Superior near Duluth I have seen this ship many times what makes me sad is how it can be towed half way around the world to be scrapped watch videos of the ships being scrapped where it is going and realize how good we have it here in the USA
I love the lakers that have high deck houses. She reminds me of the Gleneagles/Silverdale of which I am a big fan.
The American Victory, formerly the Middletown, is one of the oldest and most historic boats on the Great Lakes. She was built as the Marquette in 1942 at Sparrows Point, Maryland. Later that same year, she became the Neshanic. During the Second World War the ship saw duty on both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean as a tanker. It was awarded nine service stars, one for each major battle it was in.She is credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft and was also hit by a Japanese bomber while refueling a destroyer in the Pacific in 1944.
In 1947, she was renamed the Gulfoil when she was purchased by the Gulf Oil Company. In 1958, she was in a collision with another tanker and lost many of her crew members. Although heavily damaged, she was repaired, and converted to a Great Lakes bulk carrier called the Pioneer Challenger. In 1962, her name was changed to the hometown of the Armco Steel Company, Middletown, Ohio. In 2006, she was sold by Oglebay Norton to American Steamship and became the American Victory.
Sister ships were the SS Armco, SS Reserve and the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. At the end of 2017, the Adam E. Cornelius, American Victory, American Valor and the Buffalo were sold by American Steamship Company to Algoma Central.
I never actually knew this stuff, let alone did I even know much about the ship before!
shes one tough boat not built for comfort i guess
Thats awesome, you have a lot of great detail, very interesting!
Well done!!
Thank you very much for the information.
I was wondering the history of the ship while watching the video only guessing the she has the typical structure of he great lakes cargo vessels.
Armco steel was actually in Hamilton Ohio one town north of Middletown.
wow, this massive boat can be tugged using that little bracket in the bow... impressive.
look again the bow was reinforced behind the tow pin with a plate probably a metre sq on each side
How the ship designs have changed over the years. This one certainly has that old design look about her.
At least her boom was saved and is now on the Mark W. Barker
It's also interesting to note the Evans McKeil was built as the tug Alhajuela in 1935 in Balboa, Canal Zone. She's over 82 years old. What a tug!
Amazing! Such workhorse vessels!
In fact so old, that it is older than the ship that is being being lead to it’s doom by said tug
Presumably it is the Tug hull that is 85 years old, surely the engine(s) must have been replaced at least once in that time.
2nd generation of crew on her now
@@TheMNrailfan227 prob because she is out of date. not seaworthy; cranky
Nothing lasts forever but still very sad!
Looks quite dramatic in high speed :-)
Unusual bow contours than most straighdeckers im familiar with*quite pointy and yet the wheelhouse/forward cabins steel plating seem very flat in contrast
Beautiful vessel. Despite having been a tanker, it looks every inch a laker. Preserved? (ooops... sorry for not reading the full description before posting)
Hi. She had a major overhaul when she became the Pioneer Challenger; but I believe that the bow, pilothouse and stern are the originals from Neshanic, and the mid section is from the tanker-to-laker conversion.{ Interestingly, I also heard that until the end, she was still a steam-powered ship. I hope someone out there can corroborate that!}
I had a chance to ride on a 1930s tug like the Evans in a tug boat race but turned it down. What was I thinking .
I guess all things have to come to end eventually, but still it seems kind of a shame that this Great Lakes icon was scrapped. I was thinking, for it's final scrap tow, instead of merely shortening the ship's name to "VICTO", they could have changed the "O" to an "I" and added an ""M" and named it "VICTIM" That would have seemed appropriate. There's an excellent Wikipedia entry on this ship and it storied history from it's participation in WWII to its final scrapping in 2018. You can see it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Neshanic_(AO-71)
I agree, that would have been a very apt name...
Despite the ship needing a paint job and a hack in the propeller she looks pretty good. I suspect the reason for scraping is it's carrying capacity is too small to make a profit. When I was a truck driver, we started out with 42 ft trailers then 45s then 48s then I quit and now they are 53 ft. Each time we hauled more freight but companies cut the rates to be competitive. I think the same happened in shipping. Sorry to see it go.
I agree. I'm also in the trucking buisness, and along with smaller carrying capacity, most likely she was not fuel efficient, and took up more in maintenance and repairs. Would have been nice to see these ships run smaller shorter routes maybe. But I guess that's not the way this industry works. Just so sad to see a workhorse with such a bright history go to the salvage yards
Sadly the ojibway(formerly maritime trader,voyager independent)is also now going to the torch she was completely refitted mid 2000s(I was part of that project at heddle marine services in Hamilton)but without self unloading capabilities and lack of size its demise was expected
Must have been some considerable shaft vibration with a lump that size clearly missing from one of the propellor blades ?
Probably caused by a hit and miss propellor blade ...
Why was this ship scraped, it was literally an icon on the great lakes
Because they don't need it anymore and there are bigger more useful ships. That's just the way it goes. Not to mention she was still under steam
All ships even Icond, come to the end of their useful lives since there were mo groups
who wanted to turn her into a museum, she goes to scrap
Just curious, but where do they scrap the ships that are too big to fit in the Seaway?
I don't think they have scrapped any of the 1000 footer's yet.
muito bom
Très triste!!!
noo i love the AMERICAN VICTORY
Was this beauty originally built as a T2? Sad after heaving survived until 2018, it's still being condemned to the scrapyard!
Hi Jan: Neshanic, T3-S-A1 launched as Marquette AO 71 USN (www.usmm.org/tankers.html)
Also see:: (shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/2t3tankers.htm )
@@RightInNiagara Thanks for info. Sure, it needed some more repair than just metalocking the gap in the prop blade, Even so it's a shame that this old lady with so much history had to go this way!
The tug is older than the ship?
Yes - today's Evans McKeil was built in 1936 as the Alhajuela - see: gltugs.wordpress.com/evans-mckeil/
Does somebody know why did they change her name to Victo? I was watching when it left Duluth.
Apparently it's for legal purposes to create a final name on the ship's registry for the tow name. Usually, they just try to make some shorter name out of the last name ('Victo' out of Victory, in this case); other times they just put on some completely different name.
The 3 tugs are going to tow her all the way to turkey?
No, they're going as far as Montreal or Quebec City. Vac stay is still tied up below lock 1.
Yes, Victory is going to be towed to Turkey, just by other tugs. Towing ships across the Atlantic to Turkey for scrapping has now become a routine procedure.
1956 deckhand on 53year old steam tug (coal-burner) "FELLGARTH}. 1957/1960 AB on S.T" APPLEGARTH"until tragic loss of ALL crew 13/.01/1960 (MY 24hours OFF SHIFT!!!)
got to send it to Turkey.... way less environmental laws there.
Everything have a end...its so sad
Was she still steam powered? Riveted and welded hull.
Hi. I asked another commenter, Ryan W, and he confirmed it was still a steamer!
RightInNiagara : thanks, hopefully the Turks will save it but who knows.
Печалька !!!Уходят монстры !!!
pourquoi parler de monstre alors qu'il s'agit plutôt d'une vieille dame , et donc soyez plus respectueux des anciens comme on le dit chez nous en France ...
How does a tugboat manage to pull such big ships? The big ship has got to have some power of its own....???
There is no working propulsion or rudder control on the towed ship. The tugs are doing all the work.
RightInNiagara 😮
Why the freaking hell did they scrap this beauty?
age, hull is it in good shape? does it leak. dry docking maintenance fees and size what kind of engines can she take; max engine size
It costs a lost of money to restore and repurposed a ship, it's better business to sell it for scrape.
Lets face it, very few ships will survive after their service lifespan runs out. Especially something like a old tanker ship.
Maybe a old ocean cruise liner like the Queen Mary, maybe they'll have a slight chance to get repurposed. People still hold out hope that maybe some day they'll find some use for the S.S United States. But a old tanker ship? Sorry but I honestly don't think enough people care. Most just see it as a rusty old cargo boat.
When it's very rare for even retro luxury ships to find new life, a retro cargo ship got virtually no chance.
Oh my Goodness... DONT TELL ME SHE’S BEING SCRAPPED!!!! 😭😭😭😭
on her way to a Turkish scrapyard
Michel Gosselin NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Unfortunately she is being axed.
sad to break it to ya but yeah she is :-( i cried when i saw her leave Duluth for the last time
Why Turkey? Aren’t there any scrapping companies here?
Well... there''s one at Port Colborne, the Marine Recycling Corp. yard... the Victo tow team stopped overnight in Port Colborne, right beside the MRC yard. But the contract was with the Turkish yard, not them. You'd have to call MRC or Algoma about why. MRC probably was booked solid with other scrap ships. Why didn't any U.S yard bother to do the dismantling I wonder?
@@RightInNiagara A guess would be that Turkey probably has more of a market for the scrap, so rather than cut her up here, then transport the scrap there, just sail the ship there to start with. Just a guess.
Also, I wonder how stringent the ''environmental' regulations are there as opposed to N.America? One would think that dozens of yards would be begging for such work, yet it's -literally - shipped out overseas.
I read some news report that the scrap value of Victo after dismantling could have been about $3 million US {don't know if this can be corroborated}
But even that (apparently?) isn't enough return to entice N.American bidders to carry out the job.
Aren''t there any capable Great Lakes yards, near Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago etc??!
Even Mexico didn't want to do it...
And Turkey is all but one of our worst enemies even though it is claimed to be an ally. It would have been better if this grand old ship had just rolled over and sank on her way across rather than allow Turkey to benefit from her demise.
Question- was that ship even sea worthy to go to turkey 🇹🇷? I understand the environmental and the business end. But wouldn’t it b better to scrap it here and use the materials here instead of sending it to Turkey? Wouldn’t it come out the same business-wise? From an environmental standpoint, look at all the diesel sending her across the ocean. Besides this is an American ship isn’t it. Should b scrapped in America.? Just an opinion from someone who doesn’t no anything about the business. And what is the purpose of changing her name for scrap? Thanks for a great video. I love the lakes!
I read on. Sorry I see she was towed across the Atlantic but still seems a waste. American ship and we r buying her scrap back. But I guess she’s worth more on the global market
Hi... no problem! As you see, the ship was actually seaworthy enough to be towed to Turkey. She has by now most likely been fully dismantled. This had been a US ship until quite recently, but it had been sold by the previous US owners (along with some other ships) to a Canadian company, which then selected which ships they wanted to keep.That's how it played out. The question of why these ships aren't being dismantled in North America is hard to answer. Some are dismantled here in Ontario, at the MRC site in Port Colborne, on Lake Erie; but they can only handle so much. And your question about the name change for the tow, has to do with the ship's registry/ current owners/insurance etc. being closed and set up under a final name (usually a strange derivative of the ship's previous name) for the tow.
Thanks for ur time and the info. Since the ship is Canadian at that time of scrapping it makes sense. As well as the fact that scrapping is available but limited.
My first boat I have sailed on in 1999 and 2001 and full season 2005 as a deckhand when she was the SS Middletown I remember in in 2001 be on here on September on 911 in sliver bay Minnesota making the dock that morning and it's just crazy to remember that at that time it's sad to see her go and worked with good guys back then. Made good money back then .now I work in a shit hole fiberglass factory lol with shit pay.back then I worked with men not pussys it was a different life back then.
Lead tug needs some stern ballast.
I don't understand how the big ships stay afloat - if they weigh a lot with and without cargo....how do they stay afloat on waters? 😮
I'm going to look up information on it! 😉
83발견 😑😑😑😒😒😒
do dat...
Archimedes' principle.
Ever look in the toilet?
Two-tone, cream & rust or Corten. It should be presrved
i understand the move. but what a shame......
She had served with honour during WW2 as the USS NESHANIC (AO-71)
"AO-71" can be briefly seen at 06:44 and 07:21, painted on the outside of the white (port-side) balcony at the pilothouse level.
Such a shame
She’s riding high and light
So where is this place?
In summary, the Welland Canal is in Ontario, Canada; it connects Port Colborne on Lake Erie, to Port Weller, on Lake Ontario. it is part of the St. Lawrence Seaway system, allowing ships direct access from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, bypassing Niagara Falls.
@@RightInNiagara Learn something new every day. Thank you.
Sad . She's stripped of her identity!
O navio fantasma..não se vê ninguém
Apesar que seu propósito acho que era só mostrar O navio
The purpose of the tow was to get the ship from the Great Lakes to Turkey
Sad to see it go💀.., but scraping that beast is Gona bring in some goooood cash💸💸💸💲💲💲💲
@Rian Washington I am wondering if Middleton was still steam powered, or was the engine updated at some point?
@Rian Washington Thanks; other viewers were asking about this as well. Good to know!
Pity she couldnt get there under her own power
The tugs and the Victory should have had the CANADIAN flag atop because they were in CANADIAN waters or does international standards not apply to US vessels. The US flag belongs at the aft in a lower position.
Tim Mckeil had both flags on its tall mast; Evans just the Canadian, and Vac had a Canadian one (you can barely see it at 17:09). Victo had a Canadian one at the aft; and a US one above the pilothouse. I'm not sure what the protocol here ought to be. Should the Canadian flag have been atop Victo in these circumstances? If a vessel is being towed, does it even need a flag, as long as the tow vessel already has two flags? Is the flying of the Canadian flag on the canal a requirement or only a courtesy?? Maybe someone out there can clarify these things!
It is hard to believe this ship could not take on ballast and run under it's own power at least before it got to the locks and then they have those little trucks that tow the ship into and back out of the lock. Ships of that size usually have well maintained engines, and even on one engine she could navigate especially with the Azipod front steering that I see. However I think I was able to see every vertical support thru the outside skin of the ship. ..... It is a shame but rather then restoring a ship like this (even with it's historical past), it's cheaper to build a new one, and probably safer too. This ship had a longer life than most ships get in my opinion. I think 20 to 30 years is max before a ship is scrapped now a days.....
There are no little trucks that tow any ships on the Welland Canal.
And, who knows what condition the ship's propulsion system was in, let alone any other issues What front engine azipod are you referring to - do you mean the side thrusters? Those are not meant for full time propulsion!
@@RightInNiagara The side thrusts were meant to help turn the ship in tight turns such as the canal has. All locks have those little trucks that pull the ship thru the lock that is what that long concrete road is beside the lock ////. Even rebuilding one engine and I doubt they'd even have to do that, would of gotten the ship thru the canal with perhaps one tug and with some ballast and slow turns of the prop getting the ship to where it was going on it's final journey. It is my contention that the maritime commission made them have 3 tugs do to the weight of the ship and possible winds, but in my opinion it was over kill and the ship could have made it on it's own.
Sorry: please understand, there are NO trucks of ANY KIND which pull any ships, anywhere on the Welland Canal.
The commission you refer to, in this case is the St.Lawrence Seaway Authority, whose longstanding policy is that ships must have working engines, or be towed by tugboats (not trucks!) along the canal. Sailboats CANNOT transit the Welland Canal under sail, only if they have an engine.
The issue here is not getting thru the canal with one engine: why would that even be attempted, anyway, since the issue is that the ship was being TOWED TO TURKEY?!
The ship's fitness may have been compromised on many other mechanical fronts - not just the engine.
And: who would pay for the rebuilding of one engine on this ship, just to supposedly get her through the Welland Canal?
And - WHY would anyone do this kind of MacGyvering , anyhow, when the entire journey also includes crossing the Atlantic!?! The ship would have to be 100% seaworthy to do this on her own.
You may speculate that Victo could have gotten to Turkey on her own, but clearly, there were engineering issues that precluded this from happening,
The Seaway Authority requires that all ships - including American Victory - have to be fully seaworthy - not partially seaworthy - to transit the Welland Canal on their own power. If they are not deemed fit, they will require tow tug assistance to get through.
There is no conspiracy here; no overkill.
Scrap tows have been done this way on the Welland Canal for decades.This is standard procedure, nothing out of the ordinary.
And, I am quite familiar with what a propeller does, what a rudder does, and what side thrusters are for.... but you mentioned that there was an Azipod system on the Victo: where do you see it?
@@RightInNiagara
Obviously the guy does not understand how the Lakers work. No azipods, only bow thrusters, and as a former sailor on those ships I believe I saw smoke coming from the thruster diesel, so that was still operating.
No way the ship is worth fitting out when the decision has been made to scrap it.
I sure would love to have a portlight and one of those lifeboats though!
Those ships had some beautiful desks and I hope someone got the bell and the wheel!
Hi. Regarding the various mementos and relics, I can only assume that the previous US owners or some local historical society would have taken some of these items if they had historical value: after all, this ship (at least part of it when she was the Neshanic) saw actual WW2 combat. So, that is to be respected. But, this ship had sat idle for several years, so i don't know what had been done previously.
I do understand that there was a large crane boom that had been removed before the tow, so, other parts may have been as well
I am glad you mentioned the smoke (it is seen at 01:27 and 01:52) That is not smoke coming from any ship engine, although strangely, it looks like it.
That was actually was smoke coming from a portable generator that had been set up by the tow crew behind the pilothouse to give some power for lighting / bilge pumps / radios etc. That ship had no working propulsion at all - the tugs did ALL the work!
Even the generators were dead - so, you can imagine what kind of other problems there were!!
Anyone know what type of engine the Vac has? It sounds like a two stroke Detroit Diesel.
McKeil's website says VAC has a 1,000 HP, triple-screw engine, but not what type it is! See: mckeil.com/our-fleet/vac
More on the history and the specifications of the tug VAC at gltugs.wordpress.com/vac/ when she was still owned by Nadro.
It's interesting to note that the tug VAC is the same age as the ship she was helping tow: both were built in 1942!
"The fish tug Vac was built in 1942 by Harry Gamble of Port Dover, Ontario for George A. Clark. In 1962, the Vac was sold to Peter Minor. She went to Dan Minor in 1969. In 1974, she was acquired by Valley Brook Fish Farms. Great Lakes Marine Contracting purchased the Vacin 1976, and in 1981 she was converted from a fish tug to a towing vessel. She was eventually acquired by Nadro Marine of Port Dover.Vac is used for towing, ship docking, and icebreaking around Lake Erie, the Welland Canal, and Lake Ontario.Type: Triple Screw Tugboat
Year Built: 1942
Builder: Harry Gamble, Port Dover, ON
Engines: 1 Detroit 12V-71-TI, 2 Detroit 671-TAB
Horsepower: 1,000 bhp
Length: 65′ 00″
Breadth: 20′ 04″
Depth: 4′ 03″
Port of Registry: Nanticoke, ON"
Seems a sad end to a proud ship
Sad that her own country is doing to her what the Japanese and Germans failed to do...destroy her. So much history being cut up and wasted.
..Если старый корабль не побежден, то его дух, имя и слава переходят в новый корпус...
wait towed to turkey thats across the ocean thats a great lakes ship not ocean
if it's being towed, I suppose it doesn't matter much at this point.
The ship was built as an oil tanker and sailed both in the Atlantic and the Pacific before being rebuilt to a bulk carrier for the great lakes fleet. Many of the older ships sailed the high seas before landing in the lakes. A few lake ships are built to work in both both salt and fresh water.
All true, but if the ship is being towed, again, what difference does it make whether its a laker or saltie?
At this point, the ship has become a pile of propulsion-less scrap being towed across the ocean. It's original design is rather irrelevant in this case.
This ship bears the same name as an actual Victory Ship in the Port of Tampa, Florida. That ship is functional and regularly sails on excursion cruises.