Cuyahoga, one of the oldest Great Lakes ships, is on fire in Lake Erie

The Cuyahoga, one of the oldest ships still travelling the Great Lakes, is on fire again.

The United States Coast Guard said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Friday afternoon that the fire is ongoing. The ship’s master and crew are accounted for.

#BREAKING – #USCG personnel are responding to a commercial vessel fire aboard the CUYAHOGA #Ashtabula by providing on-scene information and status updates via deployed boats and a helicopter. Master and crew of the CUYAHOGA are safe and accounted for.

The fire is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/aQNJUQe4II
— USCG Great Lakes (@USCGGreatLakes) March 15, 2024

Ashtabula County, the county east of Cleveland off the coast of which the Cuyahoga is located in Lake Erie, is “utilizing maximum county and city fire department resources to put out the fire,” the coast guard said.

Coast Guard marine inspectors and investigators are headed to the scene to determine the cause of the blaze, and a safety zone has been established around the ship.

Last May, the Cuyahoga reported an engine room fire, also in Lake Erie while the ship was near Pelee Island. Some of the crew’s non-essential personnel were evacuated at the time and no injuries were reported.

But one expert said at the time the ship was built in 1943 and is the oldest Canadian lake boat still in operation, and one year shy of the oldest boat on the Great Lakes, period.