Research vessel Blue Heron in drydock at Great Lakes Towing on the Old River Channel of the Cuyahoga River. Rual Lee
CLEVELAND, Ohio - A ship that docked in Cleveland last summer harbored what scientists believe was a previously unknown form of life.
The revelation occurred after the research vessel Blue Heron, which was monitoring harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, began having mechanical issues.
The captain, Rual Lee, piloted the boat to Cleveland where it could be examined in a dry dock at Great Lakes Shipyard on the Old River Channel of the Cuyahoga River.
After the Blue Heron was lifted out of the water and lowered onto a parking lot, the problem was diagnosed. The propellor shaft bearings needed replacing.
But as one mystery was resolved, another more enigmatic one emerged.
Lee noticed a tar-like substance oozing from the rudder post, a normally hidden component of the ship’s steering apparatus that was exposed during maintenance.
He had never seen anything like it during previous dry dock inspections of the ship, a former fishing boat acquired by the University of Minnesota Duluth to conduct research.
Curious, Lee took a glop of the goo and plopped it in water to see if it left a sheen. It didn’t. Then he turned a blowtorch on the slimy substance to see if it would burn. It didn’t do that either.
Baffled, he had experts at the University of Minnesota Duluth investigate.
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