Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2014 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== VESSEL NAME: Cleveco (1941-'42) OTHER NAME(s): S.O.CO. No. 085 (1913-'16), S.T.Co. No. 85 (1916-'18), Socony 85 (1918-'30), Gotham 85 (1930-1941) OFFICIAL NO: 211035 DATE OF LOSS: 3 December 1942 REASON: Storm LOCATION: Lake Erie, about 4 miles off Euclid Beach Park, OH RIG TYPE: Tanker barge HULL TYPE: Steel BUILDER: American Ship Building Co., Lorain, OH, 1913 OWNER(S): Allied Oil Transport Co., Cleveland MASTER: Capt. William H. Smith TONNAGE: 2441 gt LENGTH: 250 ft BEAM: 43 ft DEPTH: 26 ft CASUALTIES: 19 SURVIVORS: 0 In 1916 all Standard Oil Co. barges & scows (1-124) were renamed S.T.Co NO.(same#) with the exception of No. 4 which was renamed Port Covington. S.T.Co. No. 85 was sold in 1930 to Gotham Marine Corp. and renamed Gotham 85. Last sold in 1941 to Allied Oil Transport Co. (Cleveland Tankers, managers) and renamed Cleveco. Early records classify her as a schooner- barge. At 3 P.M. on December 1st, 1942, the Cleveco, loaded with one million gallons of #6 fuel oil, left Toledo in tow of the tug Admiral to begin the 96 mile trip to Cleveland. During the night a winter gale set upon the pair. At 4 A.M. it was discovered that the heavy towline connecting the two was running at an angle down into the lake!! Without warning the Admiral, her crew, and the Cleveco's only means of propulsion were gone leaving the barge tethered to a 130 ton anchor. The Coast Guard was quick to respond to the Cleveco's request for assistance but, upon reaching the coordinates given to them, found only empty water. The Cleveco had broken loose and was adrift somewhere in the storm. A massive search effort was launched but blinding snow, ice, gale winds and heavy seas forced many of the rescue boats back to shelter. The cutter Ossipee braved the storm and continued the search. The Cleveco was finally sighted by the Civil Air Patrol and the Ossipee provided with the correct coordinates. Despite the day long search the Ossipee was only able to see a brief glimpse of the Cleveco through the storm. Sometime during the night the big barge went to the bottom of Lake Erie, taking all souls aboard with her. In 1961 the Cleveco was raised by the Army Corps of Engineers, removed from the shipping lane and sunk in 70 feet of water about 15 miles north of Cleveland. Leaks detected at the time were plugged. In 1995 DonJon Marine, Inc., and PCCI, Inc. successfully pumped the last of the oil out of the Cleveco. ======================================================================== Sources: Bowen, "Shipwrecks of the Lakes," p. 313-320 Boyer, "Ghost Ships of the Great Lakes," p. 195-198 Stonehouse, "Went Missing," p. 214-221 Van Der Linden, "Great Lakes Ships We Remember," Vol. 1, p. 137 Record of American and Foreign Shipping, 1917 Merchant Vessel List, 1920 Lloyds Register: Underwriters Vol. 2, 1921 Lloyds Register of Shipping, Vol. 2, 1930 "Telescope," Vol. 12, 1963 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1994 PCCI, Inc. "Removal of Oil from the Sunken Tank Barge Cleveco," 1995 Great Lakes Vessel Database, Bowling Green, OH