what caused the edmund fitzgerald to sinkwhat caused the edmund fitzgerald to sink

Edmund Fitzgerald was later discovered to be broken into two large pieces. The towed survey system and the Mini Rover ROV were designed, built and operated by Chris Nicholson of Deep Sea Systems International, Inc.[76] Participants included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Geographic Society, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the latter providing RV Grayling as the support vessel for the ROV. When a storm kicked up, the two ships, laden with iron ore, became separated. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). A recently published graphic on reddit by MyketheTryke shows a number of ways that ships navigating the Great Lakes have been known to flounder. And there's the Gordon Lightfoot song, which put a human face on a tragedy that took the lives . The first official report on the wreck sparked a flood of second-guessing. The U.S. Navy also contracted Seaward, Inc., to conduct a second survey between November 22 and 25. The ship then hit ground, and broke in two. Because the ship had no depth sounding technology, the crew had no way of knowing that incoming water was pushing the ship lower in the water until the flooding exceeded the height of the iron ore in the holds. [4][7] Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers (between Lake Huron and Lake Erie), and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship. But it's nothing but a motorized barge! "[55], By late in the afternoon of November 10, sustained winds of over 50 knots (93km/h; 58mph) were recorded by ships and observation points across eastern Lake Superior. No distress signal was received, and ten minutes later, Arthur M. Anderson lost the ability either to reach Edmund Fitzgerald by radio or to detect her on radar. However, no distress signals were sent before she sank; Captain McSorley's last (7:10p.m.) message to Arthur M. Anderson was, "We are holding our own." @2020 - northernwilds.com. The LCA thinks the Fitzgerald grounded on the poorly-marked Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island, causing fatal damage to the hull. [84] Prior to conducting the dives, Shannon studied NOAA navigational charts and found that the international boundary had changed three times before its publication by NOAA in 1976. The NTSB made the following observations based on the CURV-III survey: The No. [148] After running computer models in 2005 using actual meteorological data from November 10, 1975, Hultquist of the NWS said of Edmund Fitzgerald's position in the storm, "It ended in precisely the wrong place at the absolute worst time. [181] Robert Hemming, a reporter and newspaper editor, reasoned in his book about Edmund Fitzgerald that the USCG's conclusions "were benign in placing blame on [n]either the company or the captain [and] saved the Oglebay Norton from very expensive lawsuits by the families of the lost crew."[182]. Reportedly at the urging of the crewmens families, the Canadian government subsequently limited access to the wreckage. Average wave heights increased to near 19 feet (5.8m) by 7:00p.m., November 10, and winds exceeded 50mph (43kn; 80km/h) over most of southeastern Lake Superior. When the Edmund Fitzgerald sank to the bottom of Lake Superior amid a fierce storm on Nov. 10, 1975, the most gut-wrenching loss was its entire crew - all 29 men aboard who went down with the . At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in, However, divers found no recent damage to the shoal after the wreck and the ship's exact course could only be estimated because the Fitzgerald radars were inoperable and the Anderson kept inexact course records during the journey. The Coast Guard cited reports of damage to the Fitzgerald's hatches that were planned for winter repair. Also, in light of new evidence about what happened, Lightfoot modified one line for live performances, the original stanza being: When suppertime came the old cook came on deck, Mark Thompson, a merchant seaman and author of numerous books on Great Lakes shipping, stated that if her cargo holds had watertight subdivisions, "the Edmund Fitzgerald could have made it into Whitefish Bay. [192] The church continued to hold an annual memorial, reading the names of the crewmen and ringing the church bell, until 2006 when the church broadened its memorial ceremony to commemorate all lives lost on the Great Lakes. [56] Arthur M. Anderson logged sustained winds as high as 58 knots (107km/h; 67mph) at 4:52p.m.,[50] while waves increased to as high as 25 feet (7.6m) by 6:00p.m.[57] Arthur M. Anderson was also struck by 70-to-75-knot (130 to 139km/h; 81 to 86mph) gusts[56] and rogue waves as high as 35 feet (11m). Cooper and his First Mate had been watching their radar closely when they felt an unexpected bump. So compelling was their case on the TV documentary series Dive Detectives that singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot revised some of the lyrics of his ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.. By the next day, the two ships were caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior, with near-hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11m) high. A series of 16consecutive hatch cover clamps were observed on the No. This was as a result of massive cargo hold flooding. Corrections? [82] Deepquest Ltd. conducted seven dives and took more than 42 hours of underwater video[83] while Shannon set the record for the longest submersible dive to Edmund Fitzgerald at 211 minutes. [112] This meant that Edmund Fitzgerald's deck was only 11.5 feet (3.5m) above the water when she faced 35-foot (11m) waves during the November 10 storm. Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee The song is "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot's tribute to the giant freighter that went down in Lake Superior last November with all 29 hands lost . He will also review the theories as to what . All of the 14other clamps were undamaged and in the open position. [213], The fame of Edmund Fitzgerald's image and historical narrative have made it public domain and subject to commercialization. [19], By ore freighter standards, the interior of Edmund Fitzgerald was luxurious. The ship broke apart on the surface within seconds. It took six minutes to reach the wreck, six minutes to survey it, and three hours to resurface to avoid decompression sickness, also known as "the bends". Maritime author Wolff reported that depending on weather conditions, all the clamps were eventually set within one to two days. She set seasonal haul records six different times. Measuring in at 729 feet long, "The Fitz" was the largest ship to sail the Great Lakes at that time. [162] The NTSB investigation concluded that it would have been impossible to pump water from the hold when it was filled with bulk cargo. [13] The moulded depth (roughly speaking, the vertical height of the hull) was 39ft (12m). YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. [34], Because of her size, appearance, string of records, and "DJ captain,"[4] Edmund Fitzgerald became a favorite of boat watchers throughout her career. 3 and 4 were covered with mud; one corner of hatch cover No. The USCG cited topside damage as a reasonable alternative reason for Edmund Fitzgerald sinking and surmised that damage to the fence rail and vents was possibly caused by a heavy floating object such as a log. [4] The vessel's record load for a single trip was 27,402 long tons (30,690 short tons; 27,842t) in 1969. Burgner further testified that "the keel and sister kelsons were only 'tack welded'" and that he had personally observed that many of the welds were broken. [44] Captain Paquette of Wilfred Sykes reported that after 1a.m., he overheard McSorley say that he had reduced the ship's speed because of the rough conditions. [17] Originally coal-fired, her boilers were converted to burn oil during the 197172 winter layup. [121] Conjecture by proponents of the Six Fathom Shoal hypothesis concluded that Edmund Fitzgerald's downed fence rail reported by McSorley could occur only if the ship "hogged" during shoaling, with the bow and stern bent downward and the midsection raised by the shoal, pulling the railing tight until the cables dislodged or tore under the strain. One of the prevailing theories is that it was hit by a series of three consecutive rogue waves, a phenomenon called "three sisters," which was reported by another nearby ship. . Hatches Nos. There's the mystery of what exactly caused it to sink, inspiring many armchair detectives. The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board both issued official investigation reports that many dismiss in favor of a theory favored by the Lake Carriers Association. [4], In 1969, Edmund Fitzgerald received a safety award for eight years of operation without a time-off worker injury. The cause of the Fitzgerald's sinking prompted much discussion with multiple theories offered for it through the years and in the Nov. 19, 1975 edition of the Charlevoix Courier, experts . Water poured in through a sudden hatch failure. In 1977, the U.S Coast Guard pinned the sinking on massive flooding of the cargo hold caused by faulty or poorly fastened hatch covers. [48] Two of Edmund Fitzgerald's six bilge pumps ran continuously to discharge shipped water. Capt. [79] Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution provided Edwin A. In the more than 40 years since the ship went down, a cottage industry of shipwreck theorists have tried in vain to solve the sinking of the Fitzgerald, which rests in two pieces in 530 feet of water on the lake bottom 17 miles north of Whitefish Bay. Amy Tikkanen is Managing Editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. This theory was advanced by the Lake Carriers Association (LCA) after the U.S. Coast Guard report and seems to be the most popular among mariners and armchair wreck investigators. Despite having reached Whitefish Bay, the Anderson agreed, heading back into the storm. Later that same year, she struck the wall of a lock, an accident repeated in 1973 and 1974. [94] In March 2005, the Whitefish Point Preservation Society accused the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) of conducting an unauthorized dive to Edmund Fitzgerald. What caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink is a mystery. All Right Reserved. [118], The NTSB conducted computer studies,[119] testing and analysis to determine the forces necessary to collapse the hatch covers[120] and concluded that Edmund Fitzgerald sank suddenly from flooding of the cargo hold "due to the collapse of one or more of the hatch covers under the weight of giant boarding seas" instead of flooding gradually due to ineffective hatch closures. April 4, 2023 What caused Edmund Fitzgerald to sink? Captain Paquette of Wilfred Sykes had been following and charting the low-pressure system over Oklahoma since November 8 and concluded that a major storm would track across eastern Lake Superior. In July 1977 the Coast Guard released its report on the sinking, concluding that due to improperly closed hatches, the ship took on water. 643 shares By Garret Ellison |. Captain McSorley said he did not like the action of a ship he described as a "wiggling thing" that scared him. This week, Minnesota tugboat captain Bob Hom, who sailed with McSorley before the man became captain of the Fitzgerald, claims McSorley once told him five years before the sinking he'd hate to be on the Fitzgerald in a big storm because 'They got it all worn out from years of overloading,'" Hom told the Duluth News-Tribune. In that sense, the Fitzgerald met her fate on the path she took to avoid it. [137] The two vessels were built in the same shipyard using welded joints instead of the riveted joints used in older ore freighters. 9 was not detailed enough to indicate Six Fathom Shoal as a hazard to navigation.[148]. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. [66] Paquette, master of Wilfred Sykes, out in the same storm, said, "I'll tell anyone that it was a monster sea washing solid water over the deck of every vessel out there. At around 4:10 pm, the freighter told the Anderson that both its radars were down and requested assistance with its route. [108], The "Edmund Fitzgerald" episode of the 2010 television series Dive Detectives features the wave-generating tank of the National Research Council's Institute for Naval Technology in St. John's, and the tank's simulation of the effect of a 17-meter (56ft) rogue wave upon a scale model of Edmund Fitzgerald. "[63], Lacking appropriate search-and-rescue vessels to respond to Edmund Fitzgerald's disaster,[63] at approximately 9:00p.m., the USCG asked Arthur M. Anderson to turn around and look for survivors. [9], Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin, at 2:15p.m. on the afternoon of November 9, 1975,[37] under the command of Captain Ernest M. McSorley. The intensity of the November 10 storm would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to access the hatches from the spar deck (deck over the cargo holds). Multi-Millionaire John Jacob Astor & Captain Kidd. The two large sections of the hull give no firm indication of how the vessel came apart. Certainly, Lightfoots song is what carved that name into the collective consciousness of the continent. Although subsequent underwater expeditions examined the wreckage, no definitive answer was reached as to why the vessel sank. [110] This hypothesis postulates that the "three sisters" compounded the twin problems of Edmund Fitzgerald's known list and her lower speed in heavy seas that already allowed water to remain on her deck for longer than usual. Copyright 2019 The Lasco Press. [107] The analysis further showed that the maximum sustained winds reached near hurricane force of about 70mph (61kn; 110km/h) with gusts to 86 miles per hour (75kn; 138km/h) at the time and location where Edmund Fitzgerald sank. The second wave of this size, perhaps 35 foot, came over the bridge deck. More from Alexander Fleiss. [136] Burgner was not asked to testify before the Marine Board of Inquiry. On June 8, 1958, the vessel was christened the Edmund Fitzgerald, the name of the firms president. Shortly after 4:10p.m., McSorley called Arthur M. Anderson again to report a radar failure and asked Arthur M. Anderson to keep track of them. The expedition used a towed survey system (TSS Mk1) and a self-propelled, tethered, free-swimming remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). [159], A fathometer was not required under USCG regulations, and Edmund Fitzgerald lacked one,[160] even though fathometers were available at the time of her sinking. With a loss of buoyancy, its bow dipped and was unable to recover, diving to the lake bottom. "[197] The terms of the legal agreement made the GLSHS responsible for maintaining the bell, and forbade it from selling or moving the bell or using it for commercial purposes. [69], Edmund Fitzgerald is among the largest and best-known vessels lost on the Great Lakes,[70] but she is not alone on the Lake Superior seabed in that area. One of the worst seas I've ever been in." With a length of 729 feet, she was barely able to pass through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Conversion to oil fuel and the fitting of automated boiler controls over the winter of 197172. 77 Followers. The mystery of its sinking, the total loss of life, and the iconic song by Gordon Lightfoot have helped to keep it in modern day minds, long after it sank. The Edmund Fitzgerald was a Great Lakes freighter that sank in a storm on November 14, 1975, and few understand what happened to cause the freighter to sink. [121] The NTSB dissenting opinion held that Edmund Fitzgerald sank suddenly and unexpectedly from shoaling. No distress call was heard, and there were no witnesses. The flooding occurred gradually and probably imperceptibly throughout the final day, finally resulting in a fatal loss of buoyancy and stability. He further noted that USCG rescue vessels were unlikely to reach the scene of an incident on Lake Superior or Lake Huron within 6to 12hours of its occurrence. The hatch covers were missing from hatches Nos. Whatever the reason the huge ship and her crew were lost, the memory of the event will continue to live on. Most sources estimate there have been over 6,000 shipwrecks on the waters of the five big lakes, with a total loss of life exceeding 30,000 souls. [157], The USCG had proposed rules for watertight bulkheads in Great Lakes vessels as early as the sinking of Daniel J. Morrell in 1966 and did so again after the sinking of Edmund Fitzgerald, arguing that this would allow ships to make it to refuge or at least allow crew members to abandon ship in an orderly fashion. Photo courtesy of the Great Lakes Maritime Institute. "I've often wondered whether these two particular seas might have been the ones that finally did the Fitzgerald in, because they were really huge," he said. [50] Edmund Fitzgerald, effectively blind, slowed to let Arthur M. Anderson come within a 10-mile (16km) range so she could receive radar guidance from the other ship.