By Chris Winters

M/V ROGER BLOUGH dropping anchor outside Conneaut harbor, July 2015.   

The ROGER BLOUGH was built in 1971 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the US Steel Corp. as a self-unloader.  She measures 833.2 x 105.0 x 39.2.

On February 1, 2021, while in winter layup at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, a fire broke out causing extensive damage to her aft accommodations, unloading equipment and engine room.  Amount of damage was reported as more than $100 million by the NTSB report.  The BLOUGH was towed from Sturgeon Bay to Conneaut, Ohio, on October 27, 2022, where she is tied up at the old coal dock slip.

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Chris Winters is a Trustee and Vice President of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, a well-known author and has been a photojournalist for over 25 years.  He and his cameras have enjoyed a privileged glimpse into the lives of merchant mariners aboard some of the Great Lakes best-known and best-loved vessels.