Edmund Fitzgerald (1975)

Classification

• Incident Type: Sinking
• Severity: High
• Vessel: Great Lakes bulk carrier

The vessel was a total loss and no survivors were found.

Vessel Details

Incident Details

Key facts

• Edmund Fitzgerald was fully loaded with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets on a voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, to Detroit, Michigan.
• At about 19:15 EST, the vessel sank in eastern Lake Superior at approximately 46°59.91′N, 85°06.61′W.
• The master reported a damaged fence rail, lost vents and a list at about 15:30; by 16:10 both radars were inoperative.
• The NTSB found that progressive flooding reduced freeboard and caused one or more hatch covers to collapse under heavy boarding seas, leading to rapid cargo-hold flooding.
• No distress call was heard, no survivors were found and no bodies were recovered.

Narrative

Edmund Fitzgerald loaded 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets at Burlington Northern Railroad's dock in Superior, Wisconsin, on 9 November 1975. It departed for Detroit, Michigan, in deteriorating weather. The master chose a route using the lee of the Canadian shore rather than the recommended southern track as the storm moved across Lake Superior. The vessel proceeded at reduced speed in heavy seas while the freighter Arthur M. Anderson followed on a different track.

At about 15:30 on 10 November, Edmund Fitzgerald reported to Arthur M. Anderson that a fence rail was down, two vents had been lost and the vessel had a list. The master said both pumps were operating. At about 16:10, he reported that both radars were inoperative and asked Arthur M. Anderson to keep track of the vessel and provide navigational assistance. Between 17:00 and 17:30, he told the Swedish vessel Avafors that Edmund Fitzgerald had a bad list, had lost both radars and was taking heavy seas over the deck.

At 19:10, Edmund Fitzgerald told Arthur M. Anderson that it was holding its own. This was the last radiotelephone conversation. Radar contact was lost at about 19:20, and repeated calls received no response. The vessel sank at about 19:15 according to the NTSB synopsis, in a position approximately 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay. The wreck was later located in about 530 feet of water just north of the international boundary in Canadian waters.

The NTSB concluded that flooding had entered ballast tanks and the tunnel through topside damage and had also entered the cargo hold through non-weathertight hatch covers. Water on deck and in the hull reduced freeboard and created or increased a list. The resulting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads from heavy boarding seas caused one or more hatch covers to collapse. Without transverse watertight bulkheads in the cargo hold, the flooding spread rapidly and the vessel sank bow first. The report found grounding unlikely after reviewing the reconstructed trackline and underwater wreck evidence.

All 29 officers and crewmembers were lost. No distress call was heard by vessels or shore stations, and no survivors or bodies were recovered. The report contains a dissenting opinion that considered shoaling a more likely initiating event; the NTSB majority rejected grounding as the probable initiating cause and retained hatch-cover collapse after progressive flooding as its probable cause.

Sequence of events

Contributing factors

Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board adopted Marine Accident Report NTSB-MAR-78-3 on 4 May 1978. Its probable cause was sudden massive cargo-hold flooding after one or more hatch covers collapsed. The report identified the lack of transverse watertight bulkheads and reduced regulatory freeboard as contributing factors. It also evaluated and rejected grounding as the majority's probable initiating event, while preserving a dissenting opinion that favored shoaling.

References

• NTSB Marine Accident Report: SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975
• Edmund Fitzgerald vessel identity reference

Related

• Edmund Fitzgerald
• Canada
• National Transportation Safety Board
• United States Coast Guard
• Sinking
• Progressive Flooding
• Structural Failure

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