EMBA

3D ModelNoAI

The 181 ft EMBA was built in 1890 as the schooner-barge A.C. Tuxbury. For over 30 years she served as a consort barge hauling bulk cargos of coal, grain, or lumber. In 1923 the Tuxbury was purchased by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, renamed EMBA (short for Employees’ Mutual Benefit Association), and converted into a self-unloading barge — a relatively new adaptation at the time that allowed more efficient coal delivery along the Milwaukee River. After nine years serving as a coal-hauler, EMBA was retired. Around 1932 she was stripped of valuable gear and towed out into Lake Michigan, then deliberately scuttled. Today her hull rests upright in 170 feet of water. Although the bow suffered some damage in the sinking, much of the structure — including her self-unloading machinery, and cargo hoppers remains intact. The EMBA is a rare example of early self-unloading technology. The model was created from 2,040 30-megapixel images shot by Andrew Goodman on one DPV dive in the 2025 season.