View source for MS Windoc (1959)

{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
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{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=
| Ship name=*''Rhine Ore'' (1959-1977)
*''Steelcliffe Hall'' (1977-1988)
*''Windoc'' (1988-2002)
| Ship owner=*Transatlantic Bulk Carriers Inc
*Halco
*N. M. Paterson & Sons Ltd (1988-2002)
| Ship namesake={{MS|Windoc|1899|2}}
| Ship operator=
| Ship registry=
| Ship route=
| Ship ordered=
| Ship builder=Schlieker shipyard, [[Hamburg]]
| Ship original cost=
| Ship yard number=533
| Ship way number=
| Ship laid down=
| Ship launched=11 April 1959
| Ship completed=July 1959
| Ship christened=
| Ship acquired=
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| Ship in service=
| Ship out of service=
| Ship identification={{IMO Number|5293872}}
| Ship fate=[[Broken up]] in 2011
| Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header=
| Header caption=(as laker)
| Ship type=[[Lake freighter|Laker]]
| Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|18531}}
*{{DWT|29050}}
| Ship displacement=
| Ship length=*{{convert|222.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|oa]]
*{{convert|218|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pp
| Ship beam={{convert|23.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
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| Ship ramps=
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| Ship propulsion=1 [[diesel engine]], 1 shaft
| Ship speed={{convert|14.5|kn|abbr=on}}
| Ship capacity=
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| Ship notes=
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|}

'''MS ''Windoc''''' was a [[lake freighter]] or laker, initially constructed as an ocean-going [[bulk carrier]] in [[West Germany]] in 1959. Entering service that year as '''''Rhine Ore''''', the ship was renamed  '''''Steelcliffe Hall''''' in 1977 and reconstructed as a laker. In 1988 the laker was renamed ''Windoc'' and in 2001, was involved in a collision with a bridge on the [[Welland Canal]] which caused the ship to catch fire. The ship was declared a constructive total loss. While undergoing repairs in [[Ontario]], the ship broke free of its moorings and [[Ship grounding|grounded]]. Later pulled free, the vessel was eventually converted into a [[barge]].

==Description==
''Windoc'' was initially constructed as the bulk carrier ''Rhine Ore''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2887226|title=RHINE ORE - IMO 5293872 - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker|website=www.shipspotting.com|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref> As a bulk carrier the ship had a [[gross register tonnage]] of 8,202 tons and a [[deadweight tonnage]] of 19,918 tons. The ship measured {{convert|166.4|m|ftin}} [[Length overall|overall]] and {{convert|157.5|m|ftin}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]] with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|22.6|m|ftin}}. The ship was powered by one [[diesel engine]] and had a maximum speed of {{convert|14.5|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=5293872|shipname=Rhine Ore |accessdate=13 March 2016}}</ref>

The ''Rhine Ore'' was part of a class of 8 sisterships (''[[MS Cedarglen (1959)|Ems Ore]]'', ''Rhine Ore'', ''[[MS Algontario (1959)|Ruhr Ore]]'', ''Weser Ore'', ''Clyde Ore'', ''Tees Ore'', ''Thames Ore'' and ''Tyne Ore'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/cedarglen.htm|title=Cedarglen, Cartierdoc, Montcliffe Hall, EMS Ore|website=www.boatnerd.com|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref> Three of them were purchased by Hall Corp Ltd. of [[Toronto]] and rebuilt as lakers.

After the vessel's conversion to a laker, the gross register tonnage increased to 18,531 tons and the deadweight tonnage to 29,050 tons. The length overall of the ship was increased to {{convert|222.5|m|ftin}} and between perpendiculars to {{convert|218|m|ftin}}. The beam was also increased to {{convert|23.1|m|ftin}}.<ref name=miramar/>

==Service history==
''Rhine Ore'' was ordered from the Schlieker shipyard in [[Hamburg]], West Germany by Transatlantic Bulk Carriers Inc. with the yard number 533. The vessel was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 11 April 1959 and completed in July. Registered under a [[flag of convenience]] in [[Monrovia]] upon entering service, ''Rhine Ore'' sailed until sold to Hall Corp Ltd.<ref name=miramar/>

The ship was renamed ''Steelcliffe Hall'' after the April 1977 sale, it was rebuilt in Canada that year as a laker, with cargo space added forward of the engine room, and the wheelhouse moved aft above the crew accommodation.

After decades of service and changes to the function and structural conversions of the ship, in 1988 ''Steelcliffe Hall'' was given the name ''Windoc'' (2) after being acquired by N. M. Paterson & Sons Ltd., following the liquidation of the previous owner, Halco.

On 11 August 2001, while traveling through the Welland Canal, ''Windoc'' was hit by Bridge 11 in [[Allanburg, Ontario]]. The accident caused minor damage to the [[vertical lift bridge]], and destroyed the ship's [[Bridge (ship)|wheelhouse]] and funnel. The vessel caught fire, and was later declared a constructive total loss, but there were no reported injuries, no damage to the $6-$8 million cargo, and no pollution to the waterway. The Marine Investigation Report concluded "it is likely that the [vertical lift bridge] operator's performance was impaired while the bridge span was lowered onto the Windoc."<ref name=tsb>[http://bst.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/marine/2001/m01c0054/m01c0054.asp "TSB Reports - Marine 2001 - M01C0054"] bst.gc.ca, Retrieved on 2007-10-20</ref>

The vessel was towed to [[Burlington Bay|Hamilton Harbour]] for repairs, and in March, 2002, it broke free of its moorings in a {{convert|50|mph|abbr=on|order=flip}} winter gale, and ran aground {{convert|5|km|nmi|abbr=on}} away in about {{convert|6|ft|m|order=flip}} of water, where it was pulled out by four [[tugboat]]s three days later.<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/Scheepvaartnieuws/Pdf/scheepvaartnieuws/2002/maart/13-03-2002.PDF "Casualty Reporting."] ''PSi - Daily Shipping Newsletter'', 2002-03-13. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.</ref>

N.M. Paterson & Sons left the shipping business the following year, after 87 years, and sued the canal operator, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., for $16.9 million (C). Their remaining four active and three mothballed ships were sold in 2002. The canal operator denied any negligence, and blamed the shipping company and the ship's crew for the accident.<ref>Ross, Ian. [http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/industry/transportation/211668-02-TBay-Paterson.asp, "Paterson a casualty in shipping industry."] ''Northern Ontario Business'', Laurenthian Business Publishing Inc., vol. 22, issue 10, page 1(2). via northernontariobusiness.com, 2002-08-01. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.</ref><ref>[http://www.boatnerd.com/news/archive/7-02.htm "Both sides to present arguments in Windoc-bridge collision."] [[Boatnerd]], 2002-07-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.</ref>

A Transport Safety Bureau report on the collision points to the bridge operator and bridge operating procedures and policies as major factors.<ref name=tsb/>

The ship was converted into a storage barge.<ref name=miramar/> It was scrapped in 2011 at Port Colborne.

==See also==
*[[Welland Canal]]
*{{MS|Windoc|1899}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

* Miller, Al. [http://www.boatnerd.com/windoc/ "Windoc Accident: August 11, 2001."] [[Boatnerd]], January, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2Wn2RDzsvg Amateur video of collision]
*[http://www.niagarablog.com/allanburg-bridge-destroyed-in-seconds/ "Windoc Bridge Accident Caught on Tape"] (Video), 2008-12-03.
*[http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports%2Dreports/marine/2001/m01c0054/m01c0054.pdf "TSB Report"](PDF), 2007-10-20.

{{2001 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windoc (1959)}}
[[Category:1959 ships]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of Canada]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2001]]
[[Category:Ships built in Hamburg]]
[[Category:Great Lakes freighters]]