http://www.timescolonist.com/shipwreck-hunters-lake-erie-wreckage-likely-oil-loaded-barge-that-sunk-in-1937-leak-spotted-1.2094842
Shipwreck hunters: Lake Erie wreckage likely oil-loaded barge that sunk
in 1937, leak spotted
John Seewer / The Associated Press
October 24, 2015 06:51 PM
TOLEDO, Ohio - A tanker barge found on the bottom of Lake Erie near the
U.S.-Canadian border may be the remains of a vessel loaded with oil or
some type of solvent when it sunk nearly 80 years ago and now is on a
federal list of wrecks that could pose a pollution threat, shipwreck
hunters said Saturday.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it is investigating a small leak spotted near
the wreckage just in the last few days, although it's not clear whether
it's an ongoing leak or what kind of substance might be coming from the
barge.
"We're fairly certain there's a leak," said Cmdr. Anthony Migliorini,
who leads a Coast Guard marine safety unit based on the lake. "It's
really hard for us to point to a specific cause."
It would be a significant discovery if the wreck turns out to be the
Argo, one of 87 shipwrecks on the federal registry created two years ago
to identify the most serious pollution threats to U.S. waters.
Like about half of the wrecks on the list, the Argo's exact whereabouts
have been unknown since it went down during a storm in 1937 in western
Lake Erie — about midway between Toledo and Cleveland.
Shipwreck hunter Tom Kowalczk, who lives along the lake, discovered the
barge in August while he was searching for a wooden schooner that sunk
in 1845 between Ohio's Kelleys Island and Pelee Island in Canada.
Using a side-scan sonar, he eventually saw clear images of the barge,
including deck fittings and a tow line.
"I knew right away it was the Argo," he said. "Then I thought 'what's it
doing here?'"
Most shipwreck hunters had long-thought the Argo was a few miles to the
north in Canadian waters.
While the barge's identity hasn't been confirmed, researchers with the
Cleveland Underwater Explorers are virtually certain it is the Argo,
said Christopher Gillcrist, executive director of the National Museum of
the Great Lakes.
Divers took measurements on Friday that matched the Argo's dimensions
listed in historical records after an earlier evaluation of the wreckage
raised questions about its identity, Gillcrist said.
One other thing that suggests the wreckage is the Argo is that there are
no reports of another tanker barge being lost in the same area, he said.
No matter the answer, the Coast Guard said its priority is to find and
seal the source of the leak and determine if the barge holds any cargo
that could cause an environmental mess in the shallowest of the Great Lakes.
Divers who examined the wreckage on Wednesday didn't notice any leaks at
that time, Migliorini said. And there have not been any reports of large
spills in the area.
A Coast Guard helicopter on Saturday spotted an area of discoloration in
the water that was the length of about four football fields while crew
members in a boat reported smelling an odour in the air, he said.
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