The US National Transportation Safety Board has released a report detailing an incident involving the bulk carrier Cuyahoga, which was discovered partially flooded on March 18, 2025, while docked in Ashtabula, Ohio. There were no injuries or pollution reported during the incident.
The 605-foot (184-metre) vessel was previously declared a constructive total loss following a fire in March 2024. The NTSB determined that the fire resulted in an estimated $11 million loss for the owner, Lower Lakes Towing.
Lower Lakes Towing stated it decided not to repair the ship after the fire and planned to place the vessel in cold layup for the winter. This status meant the ship did not have shore power or a resident shipkeeper on board to monitor systems daily.
A chief engineer arrived on December 10, 2024, to oversee the preparation of the ship for the winter season. The maintenance team reported finding ice in the bilge that was approximately 12 inches (30 centimetres) deep.
The team checked all sea chest valves for cooling water, fire pumps, and sanitation systems to ensure they were closed. Lower Lakes Towing discovered that the sea chest valves for the emergency fire pump and cooling water were still open and closed them.
A shipkeeper visited the vessel three times a week to record draft marks and check mooring lines. During these visits between December and March, he reported that the level of ice in the engine room bilge remained at the same depth.
On March 17, the shipkeeper arrived at the dock but was unable to board because a manlift was being used by another vessel. He did not note any changes to the draft marks during a check from the dock on that day.
Another shipkeeper informed the vessel's primary keeper on March 18 that the ship appeared to be listing to port. Upon boarding, the shipkeeper confirmed that water was entering the engine room from an undetermined location.
The vessel continued to flood until it rested on the bottom while remaining moored to the pier. The owner contacted the US Coast Guard, and a pollution boom was deployed as a precaution.
Salvage operations took place between June 19 and June 29, 2025, during which divers inspected the engine room. Divers reported that the handwheels to all sea chest valves were in the closed position and could not be tightened further.
Investigators determined that water entered through uncovered duplex strainers and open strainer drains for the cooling systems. These covers had been removed as part of the standard winter layup process to prevent ice from damaging the housing.
The NTSB stated the probable cause of the flooding was water ingress from these duplex strainers. The agency reported this was, "possibly due to the failure of the systems’ closed sea chest valve."
The Cuyahoga was eventually refloated on July 1 and towed to a facility in Port Colborne, Canada. The vessel was sold to Marine Recycling Corporation to be scrapped.
