U. S. S. CROCUS: Coast Guard Lighthouse Tender

U. S. Coast Guard Cutter CROCUS and Her Crew
date unknown
Captain Frank Hamilton Photographs
Charles E. Frohman Collection

The Crocus was built at Shooter's Island in Richmond, New York by the Townsend-Downey Company in 1905.  She was a steel-hulled Inspector's Tender assigned to duty at the 10th Lighthouse District and was based at Buffalo, New York. In 1932, she was converted to oil-fired boilers and transferred to Detroit. During WWII she was based in Toledo, Ohio, continuing her peacetime duties of servicing navigation aids. She was decommissioned in 1946.

In December 1942, she assisted the United States Coast Guard vessel Ossipee in recovering the bodies from the wrecked oil barge Cleveco and the tug Admiral after both foundered in a raging winter storm some nine miles from the harbor at Cleveland, Ohio. Loaded with nearly a million gallons of fuel oil, the Cleveco with 18 hands aboard, was being towed from Toledo to Cleveland by the tug the Admiral when suddenly the tow line went limp. The Admiral disappeared beneath the surface after encountering 18-foot waves in a blinding snowstorm.  The crew of the 260-foot barge radioed for help, but without power, they could do little more than hope for the best. The Ossippee arrived, but failed in her attempts to get a towline to the Cleveco.  A short time later, the barge and her crew met the same fate as the Admiral. In all, 32 sailors perished.

The wreck of the Cleveco remained a concern. With a full cargo of oil, an environmental catastrophe would result if a ship collided with the sunken barge. In 1961, salvage crews attempted to bring the big tanker barge to the surface and pump off the oil. Once again, bad weather played a role. Failing in their efforts, the salvage crews towed the Cleveco to deeper waters and sunk her once more. 

In 1995, leaking oil appeared on the Lake Erie surface. This time, the Coast Guard and salvage crews were successful in reaching the overturned tanker barge and pumping off more than 340,000 gallons of oil. Resting some 14 miles from Euclid, Ohio, in 78 feet of water, the  ill-fated Cleveco no longer poses a threat to the environment or as a navigational hazard. Instead she remains a popular site for shipwreck divers. 

U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Will Bear the Name of Great Lakes Sailor

Joseph Napier

Neidecker Collection

On March 2nd, the Bollinger Shipyards held a fleet dedication at Lockport, Louisiana, only the third in its history. Louisiana dignitaries along with more than 500 others were in attendance for the occasion. Under contract to Bollinger are 14 U.S. Coast Guard Fast Response Cutters. Each will be named for a hero who holds a special place in the Coast Guard’s celebrated history. Number Ten will honor the courageous Great Lakes sailor Captain Joseph Napier. He was the son of Captain Benjamin Napier, the Lake Erie sailor who waged battle for ownership of Kelleys Island. Losing out to the Kelleys, Benjamin Napier took his family west, following his brothers to Chicago.


There, son Joseph Napier became the city’s harbormaster. In the tradition of his seafaring family, Napier built, owned, and captained Great Lakes vessels. In 1854, the citizens of Chicago presented Napier with a gold watch for leading the daring rescue of the crew of the “Merchant:” during one of the city’s most violent storms.

Captain Napier eventually settled near St. Joseph, Michigan, where he was as loved and revered as his brother Captain Nelson Napier. When the federal government built its lifesaving station in 1874, Joseph Napier was appointed its keeper. Napier and his crew were responsible for multiple rescues on Lake Michigan.

According to the U. S. Coast Guard, “the most notable occurred Oct. 10, 1877, when the schooner “D.G. Williams” broke apart approaching the port in a storm.” The schooner's crew of six clung to the rigging as Napier and three of his crewmen rowed into the violent lake. The surfboat capsized on the first effort. The crew righted and boarded the surfboat and reached the “Williams,” rescuing two sailors. Heavy waves swamped the rescue boat on their next attempt, but the volunteers bailed the water, battled rough seas, and saved two more men. On their final attempt, the crew was thrown from the boat. Napier suffered a serious leg injury. One of the rescuers threw a line to Napier, who helped right the boat and rowed it alongside the “Williams.” The last two sailors were rescued.

The U. S. Life-Saving Service, the forerunner of the U.S. Coast Guard, awarded Captain Joseph Napier its first life-saving gold medal. Today the Coast Guard station at St. Joseph is located on the exact site as the station Napier oversaw. Adam Kane, the current chief of the station, said, “Joseph Napier continues to serve as an inspiration not only to the crew but also the community.”

Bollinger Shipyards announced that the “Joseph Napier” would be completed in 2014 and assigned to Miami, where the fast cutter will perform search and rescue, drug interdiction, and coastal security.