Gregory J. Busch on the Move

The tug Gregory J. Busch and her barge, STC 2004, got underway Friday night, heading upriver from the Burroughs dock in Zilwaukee, to the Busch Marine dock in Carrollton. The pair had spent the winter at Burroughs.

Joseph H. Frantz - Stuck

While we are all waiting for the first vessels on the Saginaw River for 2009, I thought I would go back in my archives and post some photos of the Joseph H. Frantz after she became stuck sideways in the Independence Bridge.

The torrential rain the first part of September 1986 pushed water levels to near record heights. The flood stage on the Saginaw river is 17 feet, but on September 15th, it crested over 7 feet higher at 24.16 feet. The water was still high and the currents in the river still very strong when the Joseph H. Frantz attempted to transit the Independence Bridge, just downriver from the Bay City Wirt Stone Dock. The currents took the Frantz and wedged her between the spans where she sat, unable to get free. Numerous attempts to move the Joseph H. Frantz were unsuccessful.

Finally, the tug Malcolm and the tug Barbara Ann, both from Malcolm Marine, Inc. based out of St. Clair, MI, arrived on location and were finally able to free the Joseph H. Frantz after being stuck for three days.

The following photos were taken by my father:

I hope you enjoyed these historic photos. My next post will center on the explosion and fire of the tanker Jupiter, which burned on the Saginaw River in 1990.