The steambarge FRED McBRIER was sunk in a collision with the steambarge PROGRESS on October 3, 1890, in the Straits of Mackinac. The collision caused the McBRIER to sink immediately. The owners of the FRED McBRIER have filed a libel against the steambarge PROGRESS, seeking $43,000 in damages.
After the sinking of the FRED McBRIER, the steamship JOHMSON of the Murphy Wrecking Company was searching for the wreck while waiting for pontoons to raise another sunken vessel, the steam barge OGEMAW, which sank off Big Bay de Noque.
The FRED McBRIER was a bulk propeller built in June 1881, made of wood, with a gross tonnage of 442 tons and net tonnage of 354 tons. The dimensions of the vessel were 161 feet in length, 31 feet in width, and 12 feet in depth.
