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Great Lakes Nautical Society |
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The steel bulk freighter PENNSYLVANIA was launched on February 25, 1899 at Lorain, Ohio by the Cleveland Shipbuilding Company for the Minnesota Steamship Company (Federal Steel Company) which purchased the vessel on the ways. After a few trips in 1899, the ship was renamed MATAAFA to correspond to the system used by the Minnesota fleet for naming their vessels - all beginning with the prefix MA and ending with an A. In 1901, this fleet was absorbed by the Pittsburgh Steamship Company in the giant merger that shook the Great Lakes shipping world as a result of the formation of the United States Steel Corporation. The storm of November 28, 1905 on Lake Superior etched the name of the MATAAFA in Great Lakes history. With the barge JAMES NASMYTH in tow, the MATAAFA had left the Duluth, Minnesota piers about 3:30 P.M., on November 27 with a cargo of iron ore bound for a Lake Erie port. Despite the ominous forecast, the vessels departed the shelter of the harbor. When the steamer and barge were abreast Two Harbors, Minnesota about 7:30 P.M., the fury of the storm struck. The captain of the MATAAFA succeeded in turning the ship and barge around in the maelstrom and headed back to Duluth. This was accomplished at about 8:30 A.M., on the 28th. Just as they were approaching the piers, the NASMYTH was ordered to drop her anchors to ride out the storm. She did just that. The MATAAFA, meanwhile, tried to run for safety by entering the piers. Just as she approached the entrance at 2:15 P.M., a huge wave struck the stern of the vessel, forcing her bow against the north |
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Courtesy of Great Lake Ships We Remember Freshwater Press On-Line The site for the finest in Great Lakes Publications Considered to be the most accurate and reliable single source of information, both historical and factual, on the subject of waterborne Great Lakes commercial transportation |
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pierhead. The engine died and the ship was dashed onto the north beach, breaking her in two. In view of many onlookers on shore, the plight of the men in the vessel was intense. Twelve men were in the forward end of the ship and these were supplemented by three more who made a dash from the stern section across the open and split deck despite the huge waves and freezing winds to find safety in the forward cabins. The men from the U. S. Life Saving Service finally were successful in rescuing these beleaguered sailors by making two trips in the surf boat to take them to shelter. Nine others perished in the stern section of the vessel. The remains of the MATAAFA were salvaged by Captain Reid of Sarnia, Ontario. His job was another painstaking and tedious undertaking, but he succeeded. The MATAAFA was raised and rebuilt in 1906. Another accident |
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occurred on October 14, 1908, when MATAAFA rammed and sank the steamer SACRAMENTO in the Rice's Point Channel between Duluth and Superior. The MATAAFA collided with the steamer G. WATSON FRENCH off Grosse Pointe, Michigan on Lake St. Clair on July 27, 1912. The MATAAFA was heavily damaged and almost sank while being towed to Detroit for temporary repairs. When she was on the dry dock at Toledo, it was found that her portside was broken and bent for a distance of 100 feet and the deck was severely buckled. It took three weeks to repair her. In 1926, she was remodeled, so that her depth became 24.8 feet (4,319 GRT). In 1946, the Ecorse Transit Company, a division of the' Nicholson Transit fleet, purchased the vessel and converted her to an auto carrier (4,775 GRT). A flight deck for carrying autos was installed in 1950 along with oil burners to comply with City of Detroit smoke abatement regulations. From 1958 to 1964, she was chartered to the T. J. McCarthy Steamship Company to carry autos to Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York from Detroit. The MATAAFA lay in ordinary in 1964, until sold for scrapping. Along with the tanker L.S. WESCOAT, the MATAAFA arrived in Hamburg, Germany on July 19, 1965 to be cut up. Length: 429.6’ Width: 50’ Depth: 25’ |