AH-WR-1098

Baleen

Tug · United States · Lost 1975 · Boston Harbor & Massachusetts Bay

A veteran Great Lakes tug turned New England oil-barge tower caught fire under tow and sank within sight of Boston in 1975, days before the Edmund Fitzgerald disaster.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Baleen was a steel tug built in 1923 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and originally named John E. Meyer, later Jesse James, before decades on the Great Lakes and a later refit for coastal service as Baleen. On November 1, 1975, while towing a barge loaded with home heating oil from New York to Boston, a fire broke out aboard and forced her crew to abandon ship; all eight were rescued by Coast Guard helicopter. The burning tug was taken under tow but sank about six miles from Graves Light before reaching port.

Vessel

Built: 1923
Builder: Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company
Yard: Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Material: Steel
Length: 102 ft
Beam: 23 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Diesel, single screw
Owners: Boston Fuel Towing, Inc.

Loss

Date: November 1, 1975
Cause: Fire
Location: About six miles east-northeast of Graves Light, outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
Water: Massachusetts Bay
Voyage: New York → Boston, Massachusetts
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 8
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 170 ft
Condition: Formerly intact; upper structure has since collapsed, hull listing to starboard
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established