As a result Windoc's navigation deck struck the bridge span at around the level of her forward facing windows. In the moments that followed Windoc's wheelhouse was smashed and its remains fell behind the accomodations structure. Immediately thereafter, her smokestack struck the south pedestrian walkway on the bridge and was torn from the ship's deck. It tumbled over the back of the cabin and came to rest on the aft deck, a smashed wreck. What was once the front of the smokestack was lying face down as a result. The bridge walkway was also badly damaged by the impact. Steel and concrete were crushed inwards several feet by the smokestack before the stack broke away from the ship's deck. The wheelhouse scraped the under side of the bridge span and caused a great deal of structural damage, the extent of which is still being assessed. The ship continued moving northwards in the channel immediately following the collision and eventually came in contact with both the east and west banks of the canal about a half mile north of the bridge. In this time a fire started somewhere in the accomodation structure and eventually spread throughout the crew's living quarters. Her bow came to rest against the east bank while her stern appeared to have drove up onto the west bank. In an attempt to stop or slow the ship just after the accident the starboard anchor on the ship's bow was dropped and later dragged to her final resting place. It is possible that in the course of running aground she may have run over her anchor. If this did happen she may have holed herself in one of the cargo holds or in her forepeak. This is still under investigation. It was noted though that her forward draft was over 28 feet, about several feet more than what is allowed for Seaway transits. By around 02:00 on the 12th, fire crews were on scene battling to get the fire under control. Powerful pumps were spraying water both onto and into the accomodations windows from both sides of the ship but since the port side was quite close to the west bank the crews on the west side were able to bring much more water to bear on the ship. Despite the enormous volume of water being sprayed aboard Windoc the fire continued to spread inside. By this time the ship had developed a list to starboard with her drafts reading 23'9" port and over 28' starboard. By daybreak on the 12th, the fire was still going inside the gutted accomodations structure and it may have progressed down in to the engine room. By mid-day fire crews were still pouring water on to the ship and they were finally able to begin breaking into the structure through doors, windows and portholes to fight the stubborn blaze from inside. Large crowds had gathered on both sides of the canal by mid morning and news people were all around. In the light of day the full extent of the damage could be seen. It is a wonder that no one was reported seriously injured. Windoc's future could well in doubt following this incident. The accomodations structure has been completely gutted by the fire, her wheelhouse is completely smashed and her smokestack is scrap metal. Salvage operations are expected to begin on the 13th. She's loaded with 26,023 metric tonnes of wheat from Thunder Bay that was destined for Montreal and Sorel. The priority will surely be to get her afloat and get her out of the channel as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Seaway engineers have begun assessing the damage to the bridge. It is certain to be out of service for a few days but what remains to be seen is wheather or not the span can be lifted to allow navigation to resume. The steel framework of the bridge span under the roadway was quite badly damaged and parts of it have actually been bent out of shape by the forward motion of the ship. The span was lowered following the accident but stopped about a foot short of coming to rest on its footings. It is not known whether the span deck is out of alignment too. Engineers must now evaluate the bridge towers, the footings, the steel structures and the span itself. Highway #20 crosses the canal over bridge 11 so it will create a great deal of headache to local commuters. As of 17:00 on the 12th, Windoc continues to smoulder while crews slowly gain headway on the fire. She remains aground and listing to starboard resting nearly crossways in the channel. Salvage vessels are enroute from Hamilton and the operation of refloating the ship should begin late on the 12th or early on the 13th. The bridge also remains out of service pending the outcome of the Seaway's investigation.
By 19:00 on the 12th, the fire had been extingushed and fire crews were clearing the area on both sides of the canal. Enroute to Alanburg from Hamilton are the tugs Paul E No. 1, Lac Vancouver, Carrol C 1 towing the spud barge Henry T. There is a large mobile crane on the deck of Henry T and it will likely be used to lift the anchor back on to the ship's deck. Attempts to refloat the ship will commence Monday morning.
Early today Windoc's anchor was lifted from the canal bottom and placed on her forecastle deck by the crane aboard Henry T. At some point also an electrical generator was placed on deck possibly to provide power to pumps and winches. The tug Carrol C 1 positioned herself at Windoc's bow and the tug Paul E No. 1 secured a tow line through a fairlead to the vessel's starboard quarter (back of the ship on the starboard side). The tug Progress arrived from Port Colborne around 09:00 and joined Paul E. No. 1 by securing a tow line to the ship's aft transom fairlead. At 09:50 Carrol C 1 gently backed Windoc's bow away from the east bank and shortly thereafter Progress and Paul E. No. 1 nudged the ship's stern away from the west bank. By around 10:05 Windoc was sitting in the center of the channel correctly oriented to be moved. As the ship sat there in the channel practically unassisted Paul E. No. 1 released her tow line, turned around and secured to the ships aft quarter once again with the tow line secured to a tow post on her bow. Salvage operations were not hindered by wind or rain. Around 10:10 the oil containment boom which had been deployed north of the ship was removed and shortly after the tugs began towing the badly damaged and listing ship northbound slowly towards lock 7 in Thorold. Windoc will likely be secured alongside the west tie up wall south of the old guard gate in Thorold. There the holes in her bottom will be temporarily patched and her her starboard list may be corrected. Once she is righted in the water she may be towed down the Welland Canal however it is not known yet where she will unload her cargo. Surveys on the bridge structure meanwhile, are still underway. It is not yet known whether the span can be safely lifted to allow shipping to resume. Earlier today the span was lifted just enough to allow the tug Progress to pass underneath to join the salvage operation. The tug however was required to drop it's antennas and radar mast to reduce its air draft thus reducing the amount of lift required by the bridge span. Once Progress was through the bridge the span was once again lowered. Hopefully full operation can be restored so that both highway traffic and shipping traffic can continue. If not the bridge span may have to be lifted fully and left in the raised position until repairs can be done later on.
Windoc was in fact secured alongside the tie up wall south of the old guard gate in Thorold yesterday afternoon. As crews were working aboard her Seaway crews were working towards lifting bride 11. This finally happened around 21:00 and at around 23:00 navigation along the Welland Canal resumed. Windoc remains secured south of the guard gate along with the tugs Carrol C 1, Paul E No. 1 and Lac Vancouver with the barge Henry T alongside.
As of Friday morning Windoc remains secured along the former guard gate approach wall on the west side of the canal south of lock 7 in Thorold. The holes that had been punched in her #1 ballast tank have been temporarily repaired, her starboard list has been corrected and pumps aboard are keeping her from settling deeper into the water. It had been assumed that McKeil Marine of Hamilton would be contracted to tow the powerless bulk carrier down the Welland Canal earlier this week since they had handled the vessel's salvage. On Tuesday however the tug Paul E. No. 1 was released from the site and the following day the tugs Carroll C 1 and Vac were released. They sailed upbound in the Welland Canal and secured at the west street wharf in Port Colborne to await their next assignments. Later that day the remaining tugs Progress and Lac Vancouver moved the spud barge Henry T into position at the ship's stern so that the crane aboard the barge could lift the twisted smokestack from Windoc's aft deck. The smokestack boiler and some internal exhaust piping that had fallen into the water below the bridge following the accident were also loaded on deck. On Thursday afternoon these three remaining vessels were released from the salvage contract also and on Friday morning they departed Thorold destined for Hamilton. Progress towed Henry T while Lac Vancouver acted as the brakes by securing to the barge's stern. Following their canal transit they secured at wharf 1 in the harbour at Port Weller around 12:00 and remained there through the night into Saturday morning. The winds on Lake Ontario were out of the west and the waves would have made the 3-4 hour voyage from Port Weller to Hamilton dangerous. Meanwhile, the contract for towing Windoc out of the Welland Canal has now been put up for tenders. As a result there is currently no date set for the ship to be removed from the Welland Canal. The cargo of wheat aboard Windoc is apparently undamaged and the next priority will be to get the ship to a port where it can be unloaded. No doubt Paterson does not want the cargo handled several times by having it clammed out by crane and loaded into another ship. To do this would damage the wheat and reduce it's value. It is possible that the ship will be towed either to Hamilton to unload or possibly to an elevator on the St. Lawrence Seaway. There are several grain elevators in Port Colborne however the Robin Hood elevator has no means to unload the ship and the ADM elevator in the outer harbour can't accept ships with a 26 foot draft. The Government elevator in the outer harbour at Port Colborne is also unable to accept ships at maximum seaway draft. Beyond Port Colborne the nearest elevators are in Toledo, Windsor or Sarnia
Crews have been busy aboard Windoc cutting away all of the twisted, burned metal and removing all of the debris that was left on the aft deck following the fire. With the removal of the steel that was once the top of the wheelhouse the full extent of the fire damage can be seen. The ship is sitting straight in the water with a draft forward of just over 26 feet. Preparations are being made for the impending tow also. It is now beleived that Purvis Marine in Sault Ste. Marie has or will soon get the contract of towing the ship to a port where the grain cargo can be unloaded. No word yet though on whether that port will be west of the canal or eastbound towards Montreal. Today the span of bridge 11 was raised and lowered several times. Much of the twisted steel and framework on the span has been cut away and repairs are continuing. At the Windoc two tank trucks were alongside her stern today unloading the ships bunker fuel tanks.
The task of towing Windoc has become a confusing one. Originally McKeil seemed the most likely candidate for towing the crippled< Windoc out of the canal then it was suggested that Purvis would get the contract. As of today it still seems undecided but what is sure is that Windoc won't be towed down the canal to Hamilton, Prescott or Montreal. There had been an idea of unloading the ship at the Robin Hood elevator in Port Colborne using a clamshell crane but this idea didn't seem to materialize and it now looks like she will be towed to Windsor to be unloaded either into an elevator or into another vessel. Tugs are supposed to arrive early this week in Thorold to tow Windoc up the canal though lock 8 and out of the canal.
During the night of the 4th and 5th four tugs arrived at the approach wall south of the old guard gate in Thorold where Windoc has been secured for several weeks. The Josee M arrived from Hamilton, the Carrol C 1 arrived from Port Colborne, the Vac arrived from Port Weller and the Seahound arrived from Port Maitland. Preparation for the tow were made through the day on the 5th and the tugs took up their respective places at the bow and stern of the ship. There had been several possible scenarios put on the table for Windoc's fate. At one point unloading her in Port Colborne was considered, then Windsor became the most likely option, then Prescott was considered. The Seaway originally didn't want the ship to travel down the canal and at another point Purvis Marine was apparently approached about towing the ship westbound on Lake Erie. Through all this though the plan that emerged was a tow to Hamilton. The tow was to have departed during the afternoon of the 5th but heavy traffic in the canal prevented their departure. Finally early on September 6th, they got underway. Josee M was secured to the bow of Windoc for the duration of the tow while Carrol C 1 took turns with Seahound and Vac secured to the stern. To say the tow went slowly would certainly be an understatement but it went well and safely. This was likely one of the heaviest tows that has gone through the canal so a lot of care was taken to ensure that things went smoothly. Josee M and Carrol C 1 were the two primary tugs in this tow however due to the size of Carrol C 1 she was unable to stay in each of the locks with she ship and Josee M. As a result Vac and Seahound were given the task of being the brakes as the ship entered and departed the lock chambers. Carrol C 1 tranistted downbound through each lock first and waited for the rest of the tow to lock down. Once the tow was clear of the lock Vac and Seahound realesed their tow lines as Carrol C 1 attached hers to Windoc's stern. Vac and Seahound then took positions on each side of Windoc so that they could help keep the ship straight in the channels between the locks. Keeping the ship straight ended up being quite a challenge. Although her rudder was centered and she had bow thruster power it took two sometimes three tugs at her bow just to keep her properly oriented while being towed northbound at 1 or 2 knots. Eventually and without major incident the tow reached lock 1 around 19:00. There they met the ocean vessel Elikon which had been watiting there since around 15:00. By 20:30 the tow was clear of the lock and around 21:00 Josee M and Carrol C1 cleared the piers at Port Weller with Windoc in tow. The tow from Port Weller to Hamilton went well and at 04:30 on the 7th they arrived off Hamilton where Windoc will be unloaded of her cargo. It is possible that from there she will be taken to Montreal to await a decision on her future. With the tow complete the four tugs have dispersed and are enroute to their next jobs. Josee M departed Hamilton around 16:50 on the 7th heading for Toronto. She was recently acquied by McKeil MArine in Hamilton and then re-sold soon after to a company on Canada's Pacific coast. She will soon depart the Great Lakes headed for the Panama Canal with her destination listed as Vancouver. Carrol C 1 departed Hamilton around 13:10 on the 7th destined for Montreal to tow the Seaway's heavy lift crane barge Hercules to Port Weller harbour. Upon her arrival Hercules will lift some of the lock gates that are stored under water both at the Pilot boat dock below lock 1 at also immediately south of Port Weller Drydocks above lock 1. Vac departed Port Weller Drydocks this morning around 05:00 with Seahound. Following their canal transit Vac secured at wharf 18.1 in Port Colborne however Seahound continued on to Port Dover to await her next assignment. Work on bridge 11 in Allanburg continues and it is possible that it might be back in operation this October. |
