New research unravels some mysteries of McDougall’s ship ‘Meteor’
April 30, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Shelley Nelson | Source: Superior Daily Telegram
Research into the illustrious — and sometimes less-than-illustrious — past of the SS Meteor has unraveled some of the mysteries of the world’s last whaleback ship. However, it has created more questions than it has answered, said Roger Pellett, a member of the Meteor Advisory Committee working to research the ship’s history.
He and Jim Sharrow of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, another member of the committee, presented their findings to volunteers working to stabilize the ship.
… Originally commissioned as an iron ore carrier christened the Frank Rockefeller, the ship served many purposes over its 60-plus years of service. But, it’s the ship’s history as a ore carrier that stands out as the SS Meteor’s most significant, Pellett said.
…The 36th of 44 whaleback ships built by the American Steel Barge Co. based on Capt. Alexander McDougall’s fish-like design, the SS Meteor is the only ship of the fleet that hadn’t sunk, or been scrapped by the late 1960s. It remained in service until November 1969 — when Coast Guard officials said a major overhaul was needed after the ship ran aground near Marquette, Mich. It was retired and later towed to Barker’s Island, where it opened as a museum in 1973.
Full story at the Superior Daily Telegram >>
