Morania Fire

Morania #130 was a 4000-ton, 120 feet (37 m) freight barge which operated on the Great Lakes. On October 29, 1951, it was carrying 800,000 US gallons (3,000,000 l; 670,000 imp gal) of gasoline, when it was pushed by the diesel tug M/V Dauntless #12 into the path of the 454-foot (138-meter) steamer Penobscot – which was proceeding seaward empty after unloading grain at Buffalo, New York[1] – on the Buffalo River. When the steamer backed away, a spark ignited the gasoline aboard the barge, resulting in a fire[2] which killed 11 sailors, including two from Penobscot.[3][1][4] The fire burned for several days as thousands of spectators watched.[2]

The steamer Penobscot.

It was the worst marine disaster in Buffalo in the 20th century.[5][6]

Notes
  1. "Today in Great Lakes History - October 29". Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  2. "Buffalo, NY Barge And Freighter Collide, Oct 1951". GenDisasters. March 6, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  3. "Ships and Men of the Great Lakes - Index of Names". Michigan Family History Network. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  4. "1951 - The Dauntless". E.M. Cotter. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  5. "The Troy Record from Troy, New York · Page 25". Troy Record. November 1, 1951.
  6. Still considered worst ever


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