EDMUND FITZGERALD

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

EDMUND FITZGERALD

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:44 pm

Built as a great lake bulker under yard No 301 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works River Rouge, Ecorse, Michigan for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee.
07 August 1957 keel laid down.
07 June 1958 launched as the EDMUND FITZGERALD, christened by the spouse of Mr. Edmund Fitzgerald after which the ship was named, he was the President of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Comp.
Tonnage 13,632 grt, 8,713 nrt, 26,000 dwt. Dim. 222 x 23 x 12m. length bpp 217, draught 7.6m.
Powered by coal fired steam turbines, manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 7,500 hp, one shaft, speed 14 knots.
During a refit in the winter of 1971/72 the steamturbine was converted to burn oil.
Crew 29
September 1958 delivered.

24 September 1958 made her maiden voyage.

The 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. When launched on June 8, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. Nicknamed the "Mighty Fitz", "Fitz", or "Big Fitz", the ship suffered a series of mishaps during her launch: it took three attempts to break the champagne bottle used to christen her, and she collided with a pier when she entered the water.
For seventeen years the FITZGERALD carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other Great Lakes ports. As a "workhorse" she set seasonal haul records six times, often beating her own previous record. Her size, record-breaking performance, and "DJ captain" endeared the FITZGERALD to boat watchers. Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom system while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers (between Lakes Huron and Erie), and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the FITZGERALD
Carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command, the EDMUND FITZGERALD embarked on her final voyage from Superior, Wisconsin (near Duluth), on the afternoon of November 9, 1975. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, Michigan, she joined a second freighter, the SS ARTHUR M. ANDERSON. By the next day the two ships were caught in the midst of a severe winter storm on Lake Superior, with near hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 m) high. Shortly after 7:10 p.m. the FITZGERALD suddenly sank in Canadian waters 530 feet (160 m) deep, approximately 17 miles (15 nautical miles; 27 kilometers) from the entrance to Whitefish Bay near the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Although the FITZGERALD had reported being in difficulty earlier, no distress signals were sent before she sank. Her crew of 29 all perished, and no bodies were recovered.
Many theories, books, studies and expeditions have examined the cause of the sinking. The FITZGERALD may have fallen victim to the high waves of the storm, suffered structural failure, been swamped with water entering through her cargo hatches or deck, experienced topside damage, or shoaled in a shallow part of Lake Superior. The sinking of the EDMUND FITZGERALD is one of the best-known disasters in the history of Great Lakes shipping. Gordon Lightfoot made it the subject of his 1976 hit song "The Wreck of the EDMUND FITZGERALD”
Investigations into 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.
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, invested in the iron and minerals industries on a large-scale basis, including the construction of the FITZGERALD, which represented the first such investment by any American life insurance company. In 1957, they contracted Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW), of River Rouge, Michigan, to design and construct the ship "within a foot of the maximum length allowed for passage through the soon-to-be completed Saint Lawrence Seaway." The FITZGERALD was the first laker built to the maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size, which was 730 feet (222.5 m) long, 75 feet (22.9 m) wide, and 25 feet (7.6 m) deep. The moulded depth (roughly speaking, the vertical height of the body of the ship) was 39 ft (12 m). The hold depth (the inside height of the cargo hold) was 33 ft 4 in (10.16 m). GLEW laid the first plate on August 7 the same year.
With a deadweight capacity of 26,000 long tons (29,120 short tons; 26,417 t), and a 729 feet (222 m) hull, the FITZGERALD was the longest ship on the Great Lakes, earning her the title Queen of the Lakes until September 17, 1959, when the 730-foot (222.5 m) SS MURRAY BAY was launched The FITZGERALD 's three central cargo holds were loaded through 21 watertight hatches, each 11 by 48 feet (3.4 by 15 m) of 5⁄16-inch-thick (7.9 mm) steel. Originally coal-fired, her boilers were converted to burn oil during the 1971–72 winter layup. In 1969, the ship's maneuverability was improved by the installation of a diesel-powered bow thruster.
By ore freighter standards the interior of the FITZGERALD was luxurious. Her J.L. Hudson Company-designed furnishings included deep pile carpeting, tiled bathrooms, drapes over the portholes, and leather swivel chairs in the guest lounge. There were two guest state rooms for passengers. Air conditioning extended to the crew quarters, which featured more amenities than usual. A large galley and fully stocked pantry supplied meals for two dining rooms. The FITZGERALD pilothouse was outfitted with "state-of-the-art nautical equipment and a beautiful map room."
Northwestern named the ship after President and Chairman of the Board, Edmund Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's grandfather had been a lake captain and his father owned the Milwaukee Drydock Company that built and repaired ships. More than 15,000 people attended the FITZGERALD 's christening and launch ceremony on June 7, 1958. The event was plagued by misfortune. When Elizabeth Fitzgerald, wife of Edmund Fitzgerald, tried to christen the ship by smashing a champagne bottle over the bow, it took her three attempts to break it. A delay of 36 minutes followed while the shipyard crew struggled to release the keel blocks. Upon sideways launch, the ship crashed violently into a pier. On September 22, 1958, FITZGERALD completed nine days of sea trials.
Northwestern's normal practice was to purchase ships for operation by other companies. In the FITZGERALD’s case they signed a 25-year contract with Oglebay Norton Corporation to operate the vessel. Oglebay Norton immediately designated the FITZGERALD flagship of its Columbia Transportation fleet.
The FITZGERALD was a record-setting "workhorse", often beating her own milestones. The vessel's record load for a single trip was 27,402 long tons (30,690 short tons; 27,842 t) in 1969. For 17 years the FITZGERALD carried taconite from Minnesota's Iron Range mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other ports. She set seasonal haul records six different times. Her nicknames included "Fitz", "Pride of the American Flag", "Mighty Fitz", "Toledo Express", "Big Fitz",and the "Titanic of the Great Lakes". Loading the FITZGERALD with taconite pellets took about four and a half hours while unloading took around 14 hours. A round trip between Superior, Wisconsin, and Detroit, Michigan, usually took her five days and she averaged 47 similar trips per season. The vessel's usual route was between Superior, Wisconsin, and Toledo, Ohio, although her port of destination could vary. By November 1975, the FITZGERALD had logged an estimated 748 round trips on the Great Lakes and covered more than a million miles, "a distance roughly equivalent to 44 trips around the world.
Up until a few weeks before her loss, passengers had traveled on board as company guests. Frederick Stonehouse wrote:
Stewards treated the guests to the entire VIP routine. The cuisine was reportedly excellent and snacks were always available in the lounge. A small but well stocked kitchenette provided the drinks. Once each trip the captain held a candlelight dinner for the guests, complete with mess-jacketed stewards and special 'clamdigger' punch.
Because of her size, appearance, string of records, and "DJ captain",the FITZGERALD became a favorite of boat watchers throughout her career. Although Captain Peter Pulcer was in command of the FITZGERALD on trips when cargo records were set, "he is best remembered ... for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom system" while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers. While navigating the Soo Locks he would often come out of the pilothouse and use a bullhorn to entertain tourists with a commentary on details about the Fitzgerald.
In 1969, the FITZGERALD received a safety award for eight years of operation without a time-off worker injury. The vessel ran aground in 1969 and collided with the SS HOCHELAGA in 1970. Later that same year she struck the wall of a lock, an accident repeated in 1973 and 1974. During 1974 she lost her original bow anchor in the Detroit River. None of these mishaps were considered serious or unusual. Freshwater ships were built to last more than half a century, and the FITZGERALD should still have had a long career ahead of her when she sank.
The FITZGERALD left Superior, Wisconsin, at 2:15 p.m. on the afternoon of November 9, 1975, under the command of Captain Ernest M. McSorley. She was en route to the steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit, Michigan, with a cargo of 26,116 long tons (29,250 short tons; 26,535 t) of taconite ore pellets and soon reached her full speed of 16.3 miles per hour (14.2 kn; 26.2 km/h). Around 5:00 p.m., the FITZGERALD joined a second freighter under the command of Captain Jesse B. "Bernie" Cooper, the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, destined for Gary, Indiana, out of Two Harbor, Minnesota. The weather forecast was not unusual for November and the National Weather Service (NWS) predicted that a storm would pass just south of Lake Superior by 7:00 a.m. on November 10.
The SS WILFRED SYKES loaded opposite the FITZGERALD at the Burlington Northern Dock #1 and departed at 4:15 p.m., about two hours after the FITZGERALD. In contrast to the NWS forecast, Captain Dudley J. Paquette of the SYKES predicted that a major storm would directly cross Lake Superior. From the outset, he chose a route that took advantage of the protection offered by the lake's north shore in order to avoid the worst effects of the storm. The crew of the SYKES followed the radio conversations between the FITZGERALD and the ANDERSON during the first part of their trip and overheard their captains deciding to take the regular Lake Carriers' Association downbound route. The NWS altered its forecast at 7:00 p.m., issuing gale warnings for the whole of Lake Superior. The ANDERSON and the FITZGERALD altered course northward seeking shelter along the Canadian coast where they encountered a winter storm at 1:00 a.m. on November 10. The FITZGERALD reported winds of 52 knots (96 km/h; 60 mph) and waves 10 feet (3.0 m) high. Captain Paquette of the SYKES reported that after 1:00 a.m., he overheard McSorley say that he had reduced the ship's speed because of the rough conditions. Paquette said he was stunned to later hear McSorley, who was not known for turning aside or slowing down, state, "we're going to try for some lee from Isle Royale. You're walking away from us anyway ... I can't stay with you."
At 2:00 a.m. on November 10, the NWS upgraded their warnings from gale to storm, forecasting winds of 35–50 knots (65–93 km/h; 40–58 mph). Until then, the FITZGERALD had followed the AANDERSON, which was travelling at a constant 14.6 miles per hour (12.7 kn; 23.5 km/h), but the faster FITZGERALD pulled ahead at about 3:00 a.m. As the storm center passed over the ships, they experienced shifting winds, with wind speeds temporarily dropping as wind direction changed from northeast to south and then northwest. After 1:50 p.m., when the ANDERSON logged winds of 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph), wind speeds again picked up rapidly and it began to snow at 2:45 p.m., reducing visibility; the ANDERSON lost sight of the FITZGERALD, which was about 16 miles (26 km) ahead at the time.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Captain McSorley radioed the ANDERSON to report that the FITZGERALD was taking on water and had lost two vent covers and a fence railing. The vessel had also developed a list. Two of the FITZGERALD 's six bilge pumps ran continuously to discharge shipped water. McSorley said that he would slow his ship down so that the ANDERSON could close the gap between them. In a broadcast shortly afterward, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) warned all shipping that the Soo Locks had been closed and they should seek safe anchorage. Shortly after 4:10 p.m., McSorley called the ANDERSON again to report a radar failure and asked the ANDERSON to keep track of them. The FITZGERALD, effectively blind, slowed to let the ANDERSON come within a 10-mile (16 km) range so she could receive radar guidance from the other ship.
For a time the ANDERSON directed the FITZGERALD toward the relative safety of Whitefish Bay; then at 4:39 p.m., McSorley contacted the USCG station in Grand Marai, Michigan, to inquire if the Whitefish Point light and navigation beacon were operational. The USCG replied that their monitoring equipment indicated that both instruments were inactive. McSorley then hailed any ships in the Whitefish Point area to report the state of the navigational aids, receiving an answer from Captain Cedric Woodard of the AVAFORS between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. that the Whitefish point light was on but not the radio beacon. Woodward testified to the Marine Board that he overheard McSorley say, "Don't allow nobody on deck", as well as something about a vent that Woodward could not understand. Some time later, McSorley told Woodward that "I have a 'bad list', I have lost both radars, and am taking heavy seas over the deck in one of the worst seas I have ever been in".
By late in the afternoon of November 10, sustained winds of over 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) were recorded by ships and observation points across eastern Lake Superior. The ANDERSON logged sustained winds as high as 58 knots (107 km/h; 67 mph) at 4:52 p.m., while waves increased to as high as 25 feet (7.6 m) by 6:00 p.m. The ANDERSON was also struck by 70-to-75-knot (130 to 139 km/h; 81 to 86 mph) gusts and rogue waves as high as 35 feet (11 m).
The last communication from the ship came at approximately 7:10 p.m., when the ANDERSON notified the FITZGERALD of an upbound ship and asked how she was doing. McSorley reported, "We are holding our own." She sank minutes later. No distress signal was received, and ten minutes later the ANDERSON could neither raise the FITZGERALD by radio, nor detect her on radar.
Captain Cooper of the ANDERSON first called the USCG in Sault Ste. Marie at 7:39 p.m. on channel 16, the radio distress frequency. The USCG responders instructed him to call back on channel 12 because they wanted to keep their emergency channel open and they were having difficulty with their communication systems, including antennas blown down by the storm. Cooper then contacted the upbound saltwater vessel NANFRI and was told that she could not pick up the FITZGERALD on her radar. Despite repeated attempts to raise the USCG, Cooper was not successful until 7:54 p.m. when the officer on duty asked him to keep watch for a 16-foot (4.9 m) outboard lost in the area. At about 8:25 p.m., Cooper again called the USCG to express his concern about the FITZGERALD and at 9:03 p.m. reported her missing. Petty Officer Philip Branch later testified, "I considered it serious, but at the time it was not urgent."
Lacking appropriate search-and-rescue vessels to respond to the FITZGERALD disaster, at approximately 9:00 p.m., the USCG asked the ANDERSON to turn around and look for survivors. Around 10:30 p.m., the USCG asked all commercial vessels anchored in or near Whitefish Bay to assist in the search. The initial search for survivors was carried out by the ANDERSON, and a second freighter, the SS WILLIAM CLAY FORD The efforts of a third freighter, the Canadian vessel HILDA MARJANNE, were foiled by the weather. The USCG sent a buoy tender, WOODRUSH, from Duluth, Minnesota, but it took two and a half hours to launch and a day to arrive at the search area. The Traverse City, Michigan, USCG station launched a HU-16 fixed-wing search aircraft that arrived on the scene at 10:53 p.m. while a HH-52 USCG helicopter with a 3.8-million-candlepower searchlight arrived at 1:00 a.m. on November 11. Canadian Coast Guard aircraft joined the three-day search and the Ontario Provincial Police established and maintained a beach patrol all along the eastern shore of Lake Superior.
Although the search recovered debris, including lifeboats and rafts, no survivors were found. On her final voyage the FITZGERALD 's crew of 29 consisted of the captain, the first, second and third mates, five engineers, three oilers, a cook, a wiper, two maintenance men, three watchmen, three deckhands, three wheelsmen, two porters, a cadet and a steward. Most of the crew was from Ohio and Wisconsin; their ages ranged from 21-year-old deckhand Mark Andrew Thomas to Captain McSorley, 63 years old and planning his retirement.
The FITZGERALD is amongst the largest and best-known vessels lost on the Great Lakes[ but she is not alone on the Lake Superior seabed in that area. In the years between 1816, when the INVINCIBLE was lost, to the sinking of the FITZGERALD in 1975, the Whitefish Point area had claimed at least 240 ships.
Turks & Caicos Islands 1996 $2 sgMS 1401, scott1197
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald
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