SS EDMUND FITZGERALD SINKING IN LAKE SUPERIOR ON 10 NOVEMBER 1975 WITH LOSS OF LIFE. MARINE CASUALTY REPORT

On the evening of 10 November 1975, the SS EDMUND FITZGERALD, while in a severe storm, with a full cargo of taconite pellets, sank in eastern Lake Superior at 46 deg 59.9' N, 85 deg 06.6W, approximately 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay, Michigan. All of the 29 crewmen on board at the time of the casualty are missing and presumed dead. This report contains the U. S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation report and the Action taken by the Commandant to determine the probable cause of the casualty and the recommendations to prevent recurrence. The Commandant concurred with the Marine Board that the most probable cause of the sinking was the loss of buoyancy resulting from massive flooding of the cargo hold. This flooding most likely took place through ineffective hatch closures. The vessel dove into a wall of water and never recovered, with the breaking up of the ship occurring as it plunged or as the ship struck the bottom. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  United States Coast Guard

  2100 Second Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20593
• Publication Date: 1977-7-26

Media Info

• Pagination: 121 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Casualties; Crash causes; Crash investigation; Fatalities; Fittings; Lakes; Merchant vessels; Navigational aids; Ore carriers; Permeability; Search and rescue operations; Ship structural components; Shipboard personnel; Ships; Shipwrecks; Stability (Mechanics); Storms; Vehicle components; Water transportation crashes; Water waves
• Uncontrolled Terms: Foundering
• Geographic Terms: Great Lakes; Lake Superior
• Old TRIS Terms: Casualty data; Damage stability; Lake waves; Ship auxiliary equipment; Ship casualties; Ss edmund fitzgerald; Watertight fittings
• Subject Areas: Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00175375
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: USCG-16732/64216
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 31 1978 12:00AM