Status In service Length 149 m | Launched 24 April 1965 Beam 17 m | |
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Name Fort William (1965-83)Stephen B. Roman (1983-present) Owner Canadian Steamship Lines (1965-82)Lake Ontario Cement Company (later ESSROC) (1982-present) Operator Canada Steamship Lines (1965-1998)Upper Lakes Group of Toronto (1998-2004)Seaway Marine Transport (2004-present) Type Bulk carrier (as built)Cement carrier (after 1983) Depth 35 feet 6 inches (10.82 m) | ||
Stephen B. Roman is a Canadian bulk carrier operating on the Great Lakes. She carries dry cement to Great Lakes ports, and is named after prominent Canadian mining engineer Stephen Boleslav Roman.
She was originally launched on April 24, 1965, as Fort William, a package freighter carrying ore pellets for the Canadian Steamship Lines. She capsized on September 14, 1965, due to human error when unloading, and her lower holds were emptied, while her upper decks were heavily loaded. After she capsized aerosolized calcium chloride powder exploded when exposed to water. Five sailors lost their lives. The vessel was salvaged and restored to service in May 1966.
She collided with Paul L. Tietjen on August 10, 1967.
The vessel was purchased in 1982 by the Lake Ontario Cement Company, now ESSROC Canada, which renamed her Stephen B. Roman after converting her to a self-unloading cement carrier.
