Vessel
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- maritimeshippingshipwrecksheritage
Summary
The J. Oswald Boyd was a gasoline tanker that grounded on Simmons Reef and was later used as the source of salvage gasoline. The Marold II was lashed to it during the January 1937 transfer operation when the explosion occurred; the primary report says the Boyd continued to burn afterward and carried the two recovered Cole bodies.
Evidence and limits
The source identifies the tanker, owner, grounding, and role in the casualty, but provides no official number, dimensions, registry, final disposition, or complete grounding date. Those details remain blank.
The July 1942 Herald supplies a later disposition: the salvaged tanker was delivered to Great Lakes Steel in Detroit for scrapping. It does not identify the salvage date or add an official vessel record.
Open questions
- Can Great Lakes vessel records identify the Boyd and its owner more fully?
- When was the tanker grounded and what was its final disposition after the salvage operation?
See also
Sources
- Charlevoix County Herald, January 8, 1937, “Coast Guards Abandon Search for Three Men Missing in Marold II Explosion.”Reports that the J. Oswald Boyd grounded on Simmons Reef, was abandoned for salvage, and was lashed to the Marold II when the gasoline-transfer explosion occurred; it names Dunham Marine Corporation of New York as owner.
- Charlevoix Courier, January 1997, “Ship explosion recalled on 60th anniversary,” scrapbook section.Retells the grounding and salvage operation and identifies the Boyd as the gasoline tanker involved in the Marold II explosion.
- Charlevoix County Herald, July 24, 1942, “Ship Salvaged Another Junked.”Reports that the Boyd, stranded at Beaver Island in 1936, had been salvaged and was delivered to Great Lakes Steel in Detroit for scrapping; it repeats the 920,000-gallon gasoline cargo.