Scientists have found themselves baffled by a mysterious black goo-like substance that was discovered on a ship docked in Cleveland. The ship, a research vessel named the Blue Heron, is used to conduct research in oceans and coastal waters.

The Blue Heron was docked in Cleveland after experiencing mechanical issues while it was out monitoring harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. When it was lifted out of the water to be examined, the captain noticed a strange black goo oozing from the ship’s rudder.

It wasn’t tar, nor was it grease. It left no sheen when placed in water. And it wouldn’t burn.

So what was it? Venom?

Seeing as how he was the captain of a research vessel, the captain decided to have the black goo examined by some scientists. So, a cup of the bizarre black goo was transported back to the science lab at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

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— I'm From Cleveland (@ImFromCle) July 6, 2025

There, Cody Sheik, an associate professor and expert in microbial ecology, examined it and ran it through DNA sequencing. He then compared the around 20 DNA genomes that were identified with global databases.

One of the genomes came back completely unidentifiable. They named it, at least temporarily, ShipGoo001.

“The biggest surprise was that the ship goo had life in it at all,” Sheik said in a press release about the discovery. “We thought we’d find nothing. But surprisingly, we found DNA and it wasn’t too destroyed, nor was the biomass too low.”

The ‘ship goo’ organisms appear to be part of a complex food web, possibly even contributing to biocorrosion of the metal rudder shaft. Interestingly, while the particular species ShipGoo001 is new to science, some of its companions have been found in tar pits and petroleum wells around the world, suggesting these microbes may be more widespread than initially thought.

The discovery raises intriguing questions, like where did these organisms originate? The lake waters surrounding the vessel are oxygenated, yet these microbes can only survive without oxygen. Sheik speculates they may have been dormant in the oil used to grease the rudder, waiting until conditions were right for growth. The fact that no oozing was observed during the vessel’s previous maintenance in November 2021 adds another layer of mystery.

“We don’t know exactly what ShipGoo001 is good for right now,” Catherine O’Reilly, director of the Large Lakes Observatory, told MPR News. “But there’s a good chance that we’ll learn more about it, and it might turn out to have applications to things that we care about as a society.”

Just when you think you’ve seen everything

O’Reilly also pointed out that the discovery “shows us how how important it is to be creative as a scientist, to be open minded, to take advantage of opportunities that come to you and just explore what’s right in front of you, because you really don’t know what you’re going to find.”

Shiek added, “Does it eat oil? Does it breathe in metal, like iron? And so that’s where we’re at right now. Thinking about how these organisms are surviving, or maybe even just thriving, in this built environment that we very rarely think about.”

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