''Elizabeth M'' was a

towboat A pusher, pusher craft, pusher boat, pusher tug, or towboat, is a boat designed for pushing barges or car floats. In the United States, the industries that use these vessels refer to them as towboats. These vessels are characterized by a squa ...

that sank in the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

on January 9, 2005. The sinking of the vessel resulted in the death of four of the seven crew when the ''Elizabeth M'' accidentally went over the

Montgomery Locks and Dam The Montgomery Locks and Dam are part of a lock and dam system that is located on the Ohio River in the United States. History and notable features Situated thirty-two miles downstream from the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this lock and dam ...

near the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

suburb of

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It was originally named the B.F. Fairless, in honor of

Benjamin Franklin Fairless Benjamin Franklin Fairless (May 3, 1890 — January 1, 1962) was an American steel company executive. He was president of a wide range of steel companies during a turbulent and formative period in the American steel industry. His roles included P ...

, when it was launched by the

Dravo Corporation Dravo Corporation was an American shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh in 1891. The corporation Initial public offering, went pub ...

in 1951.

Tragedy

The Braddock bound ''Elizabeth M'' was pushing four

barges A barge is typically a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pull ...

through the

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

when the strong current of the river pushed the tug and its load over the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

. High water was partly blamed for the incident. Two of the six crew managed to escape the sinking ship, but four perished, and the last was found weeks later inside the sunken vessel when the ship was raised from the bottom of the river. The sinking of the ''Elizabeth M'' is one of the most recent maritime disasters on the Ohio.
''

Daily Shipping Newsletter Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 2005-01-12. Accessed 2008-02-09.

References

Towboats Shipwrecks of the Ohio River 2005 in Pennsylvania Maritime incidents in 2005 {{shipwreck-stub