Red Crown – Amoco Indiana – Medusa Conquest – Southdown Conquest – Cemex Conquest – Conquest – St. Marys Conquest
1937-Present
Articulated Barge, Self-Unloading Cement Carrier; Paired with Tugboat Bradshaw McKee
Specs
Build Information
Year Built: 1937
Builder: Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI
Hull #292
Registry: US 236823
IMO #5015012
Laid Down: —
Launch Date: September 18, 1937
Commissioned: November 1, 1937
Paired Tugboats:
- Susan W. Hannah [1987-2008]
- Prentiss Brown [2009-2015]
- Bradshaw McKee [2015-2019]
- Prentiss Brown [2019-2020]
- Meredith Ashton [2020-2020]
- Bradshaw McKee [2021-Present]
Construction
Red Crown was constructed in 1937 as a powered petroleum tanker by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. for Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. She was the last powered tanker constructed for Standard Oil Co. of Indiana.
In 1987, she was reconstructed as a self-unloading cement carrier barge. Her self-unloading equipment consists of a single hold conveyor and airslide system feeding a forward bucket elevator and airslide boom on deck.
Modifications
- Converted into a self-unloading cement carrier barge, Bay Shipbuilding Corp., Sturgeon Bay, WI, 1987.
- Lengthened 17’09” and stern notch rebuilt, Erie Marine, Erie, PA, 1992.
General Stats
As constructed as a self-propelled tanker
Length Overall: 465’03”
Length Between Perpendiculars: 454′
Breadth: 55′
Depth: 28′
Loaded Draft: —
Capacity: 5443 Gross Tons, 3363 Net Tons
Vessel Type: Liquid Cargo Tanker
Number of Cargo Tanks: —
Primary Operations: Petroleum Trades
Propellers: 1
Rudders: 1
After conversion to a self-unloading cement carrier barge, 1987.
Length Overall [Combined Tug & Barge]: 498′
Length Overall [Barge]: 437’06”
Breadth: 55′
Depth: 28′
Loaded Draft: 21′
Capacity: 8,500 Tons
Vessel Type: Self-Unloading Cement Carrier; Barge
Number of Cargo Holds: 8
Number of Hatches: —
Primary Operations: Cement Trade
Engineering Equipment [Removed, 1987]
Original
Engine
Engine Type: Triple-Expansion Steam Engine
Engine Manufacturer: Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Engine Department, Manitowoc, WI
Engine Model: —
Number of Engines: 1
Rated HP: 2600 IHP
Boiler
Boiler Type: Oil-Fired Scotch Boilers
Boiler Manufacturer: —
Boiler Size: —
Number of Boilers: 2
History
Lineage
Red Crown – 1937-1962
Owner: Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, Whiting, IN
Operator: Standard Oil Co.
Flag: United States
Home Port: Whiting, IN
Amoco Indiana – 1962-1987
Owner: American Oil Co. of Indiana, Whiting, IN
Operator: American Oil Co.
Flag: United States
Home Port: Whiting, IN
Medusa Conquest– 1987-1999
Owner: Cement Transit Co., Cleveland, OH [Medusa Portland Cement]
Operator: Cement Transit Co.
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
Southdown Conquest– 1999-2000
Owner: Southdown, Inc., Houston, Texas
Operator: Southdown, Inc.
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
Southdown Conquest – 2000-2003
Owner: Wilmington Trust, Wilmington, DE
Operator: HMC Ship Management, Lemont, IL [Hannah Marine Corp.] [Under charter to Cemex]
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
Cemex Conquest – 2003-2005
Owner: Wilmington Trust, Wilmington, DE
Operator: HMC Ship Management, Lemont, IL [Hannah Marine Corp.] [Under charter to Cemex]
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
St. Marys Conquest – 2005-2009
Owner: VCNA Prairie-Illinois INC., Bridgeview, IL [St. Marys Cement]
Operator: HMC Ship Management, Lemont, IL [Hannah Marine Corp.]
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
St. Marys Conquest– 2009-Present
Owner: VCNA Prairie-Illinois INC., Bridgeview, IL [St. Marys Cement]
Operator: Port City Marine Services, Muskegon, MI [Sand Products Corp.]
Flag: United States
Home Port: Cleveland, OH
Her Story
Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.’s Hull #292 was christened Red Crown and launched into the waters of the Manitowoc River on September 18, 1937. Red Crown was constructed as a powered tanker for the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, and was 465’03’’ long, 55’ wide, and 28’ long. She was originally powered by a shipyard-built Triple Expansion steam engine producing 2600 IHP, with a pair of oil-fired scotch boilers. Red Crown entered service on November 1, 1937, beginning her 50-year career of serving the Standard Oil and later, Amoco Oil, facilities across the Great Lakes with petroleum from her home facility in Whiting, IN.
In 1962, Standard Oil Co. of Indiana’s assets were sold to Amoco Oil of Indiana. Amoco Oil was formerly owned by Standard Oil, but was sold independent in 1911 when the Standard Oil Trust was broken up by the federal government. Red Crown was renamed Amoco Indiana, continuing to serve her normal trade routes.
Amoco Indiana was sold to Cement Transit Co., a subsidiary of Medusa Portland Cement, in 1986 for conversion to a self-unloading cement carrier barge. She was taken to Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, WI, for her reconstruction. Her engine room and accommodations were cut down and a notch for a push tug was fabricated on her stern. Her cargo holds were reconfigured for the carriage of the powdered cement, and a forward bucket elevator system leading to an airslide boom was installed. She entered service as the self-unloading cement barge Medusa Conquest in 1987. Hannah Marine Corp. was contracted to manage the barge, and she was paired with the tug Susan W. Hannah. Her stern notch was reconstructed in 1992 by Erie Marine of Erie, PA.
Medusa Cement was bought out by Southdown, Inc., in 1998, and Medusa Conquest was renamed Southdown Conquest in early 1999. Southdown was purchased by Mexico-based Cemex in 2000. The Southdown Conquest was sold to Wilmington Trust in order to keep her Jones Act-compliancy. She remained under management of Hannah Marine Corp., under a cargo contract charter to Cemex. She was renamed Cemex Conquest in 2003.
Cemex’s Great Lakes regional operations were purchased by Brazilian Cement firm Votorantum Cimentos in 2005. Ownership of the assets were placed under their subsidiary St. Marys Cement US. Cemex Conquest’s name was briefly shortened to Conquest, before being renamed St. Marys Conquest after her new charterer.
In early 2009, Hannah Marine Corp. went out of business. Port City Marine Services, a subsidiary of Sand Products Corp., took over management of the St. Marys Conquest, pairing her with their tug Prentiss Brown. The pair entered service together on March 8, 2009.
Bradshaw McKee switched places with the Prentiss Brown as the primary push tug for St. Marys Conquest in early 2015. Bradshaw McKee switched to another barge in January 2019, pushing the recently-completed Commander. Prentiss Brown rotated between pushing the barges St. Marys Challenger and St. Marys Conquest for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, depending on contract needs. Port City Marine chartered the tug Meredith Ashton from Ashton Marine of North Muskegon, MI, in August 2020, to push St. Marys Conquest. The Conquest operated with Meredith Ashton until the beginning of December. St. Marys Conquest continues to serve the powdered cement trade for St. Marys Cement, and was paired with the Bradshaw McKee prior to the 2021 season.
Compiled By Brendan Falkowski
Updated on February 17, 2021
Gallery
Sources
Berry, Sterling P. “Red Crown” Great Lakes Vessel History: Vessel Histories of Sterling P. Berry. N.d. Accessed 6 January 2021. https://www.greatlakesvesselhistory.com/histories-by-name/r/green-island
Burdick, Rod. “St. Marys Conquest”. Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online. N.d. Accessed 6 January 2021. http://boatnerd.com/pictures/fleet/stmarysconquest.htm
Greenwood’s Guide to Great Lakes Shipping 2016, Harbor House Publishers, 2016. Pp. 7.5.
LeLievre, Roger. Know Your Ships 2020. Marine Publishing Company, 2020. Pp. 78.
Manse, Thomas J. Know Your Ships: 1959. Thomas J. Manse, 1959. Pp. 41.
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