Fire on a freight barge which operated on the Great Lakes
Morania #130 was a 4000-ton, 120-foot (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 tugM/VDauntless #12 into the path of the 454-foot (138-meter) steamerPenobscot – 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]
