logo

Video encyclopedia

10/11/1975 Cargo ship sinks in Lake Superior killing 29 crew members

2:24

41st anniversary of Edmund Fitzgerald sinking

3:06

Edmund Fitzgerald Crewman Discovered

6:39

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

A lake freighter named SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm, which resulted in the loss of the entire crew. Before this event, the ship carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth to iron works in Detroit, and other Great Lakes ports for 17 years.
    • Essentials 

    • Design and construction 

    • Name and launch 

    • Final voyage and wreck 

    • Search 

    • Wreck discovery 

    • Underwater surveys 

    • Restrictions on surveys 

    • Waves and weather hypothesis 

    • Rogue wave hypothesis 

    • Cargo-hold flooding hypothesis 

    • Shoaling hypothesis 

    • Structural failure hypothesis 

    • Weather forecasting 

    • Inaccurate navigational charts 

    • Lack of watertight bulkheads 

    • Lack of instrumentation 

    • Maintenance 

    • Legal settlement 

    • Subsequent changes to Great Lakes shipping practice 

    • Memorials 

    • Musical and theater tributes 

    • Commercialization