Morania #130 was a 4000-ton, 120feet freight barge which operated on the Great Lakes. On October 29, 1951, it was carrying of gasoline, when it was pushed by the diesel tug M/V Dauntless #12 into the path of the 454-foot (138-meter) steamer Penobscot – which was proceeding seaward empty after unloading grain at Buffalo, New York – on the Buffalo River. When the steamer backed away, a spark ignited the gasoline aboard the barge, resulting in a fire[1] which killed 11 sailors, including two from Penobscot.[2] [3] [4] The fire burned for several days as thousands of spectators watched.[1]
It was the worst marine disaster in Buffalo in the 20th century.[5] [6]