SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America’s Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, though many books, studies, and expeditions have examined it. Edmund Fitzgerald may have been swamped, suffered structural failure or topside damage, experienced shoaling, or suffered from a combination of these.
About SS Edmund Fitzgerald in brief
SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America’s Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. For 17 years, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other Great Lakes ports. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, though many books, studies, and expeditions have examined it. Edmund Fitzgerald may have been swamped, suffered structural failure or topside damage, experienced shoaling, or suffered from a combination of these. The disaster is one of the best-known in the history of Great Lakes shipping. Gordon Lightfoot made it the subject of his 1976 hit song \”The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald\” after reading an article, \”The Cruelest Month\”, in the November 24, 1975,. The ship’s value at that time was USD 7 million ). Edmund Fitzgerald was the first laker built to the maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size, which was 730 feet long, 75 feet wide, and with a 25 foot draft. The moulded depth was 39 ft. The hold depth was 33 ft 4 in. GLEW laid the first keel plate on August 7 the same year. In 1969, the ship’s maneuverability was improved by the installation of a diesel-powered bow-powered diesel bow.
By ore freighter standards, the interior of Edmundgerald was luxurious. There were two guest staterooms, drapes over poles, leather swivel chairs in the guest lounge, and deep pile of pile carpeting over the stateroom. Her J-shaped hull was the longest ship on the Great Lakes until September 17, 1959, when the 730-foot SS Murray Bay launched. The cargo holds were loaded through 21 watertight, each 11 by 48 feet of steel. Originally her boilers were converted to burn oil during the 1971–72 winter lay-up, and her 5-inch-fired boilers are 5⁄16-inch thick. She was the first ship to be named the Queen of the Lakes, earning her the title in September 1959. She set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own record. 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, and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks with a running commentary about the ship. He was also known as the “DJ captain” of the ship, and entertained spectators by playing the piano and singing along to the music on the intercom. The sinking led to changes in Great lakes shipping regulations and practices that included mandatory survival suits, depth finders, positioning systems, increased freeboard, and more frequent inspection of vessels.
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