There have been numerous maritime tragedies throughout history. The TITANIC, LUSITANIA, and ANDREA DORIA, come to mind immediately.

Unfortunately, in November 1975, yet another great ship would join the afore mentioned magnificent vessels into the dark, eerie, depths of disaster. Her name was the, EDMUND FITZGERALD. And, her story ended up being one of the greatest tragedies in United States Maritime history.

The SS EDMUND FITZGERALD was launched on the afternoon of June 8 1958, at the Great Lakes Engineering Works, near River Rouge, Michigan. More than 700 onlookers observed the historic event which was unexpectedly rough and forceful, sending huge waves of water crashing over the dockyard. Many people actually thought that the giant hull was going to wash up onto the dock itself at one point. Tragically, the entire episode was simply too much for one 56 year young man who fell to the ground and passed away from a coronary thrombosis before it was all over.

A mammoth vessel, “The Big Fitz”, as she would eventually be nicknamed, was 729 feet long, 75 feet wide, and weighed 13,632 gross tons. She contained 21 cargo hatches, and her hold was large enough to transport the Statue of Liberty. At the time of her launching, she was the single largest iron-ore freighter ever built, and would remain so for several years to come.

For 17 years, the EDMUND FITZGERALD served the ore fleet with great honor and distinction. She set countless shipping records, some of which still stand to this day for her type and size. For example, in 1964, she became the very first ore freighter in all of recorded history to haul more than 1 million tons of taconite pellets [The technical name for iron ore] through the Soo Locks of Great Lake Superior.

Just four years later, she would actually eclipse her own record by carrying a record 1.2 million tons of ore through those same locks. In addition, in the fall of 1969, the EDMUND FITZGERALD, set the all-time tonnage record for a ship her size when she carried an unbelievable 27,402 tons of ore across Lake Superior, all the way to the great city of Cleveland, in the great state of Ohio. The “Big Fitz” was fast becoming a legend on the Great lakes.

Besides tonnage records, the EDMUND FITZGERALD also set countless speed records as well. To put it bluntly, she was incredibly fast. For example, twice in 1966, and once more the following year, she made the voyage form Superior, Wisconsin to Cleveland in less than three days time. Other vessels routinely took more than four full days to cover that exact same distance.

Then, in the spring of 1969, the great ship shattered her very own previous record by almost four hours. Such were these phenomenal exploits, that the “Big Fitz” earned the famed, Blue Ribbon for being the fastest ore freighter on the Great Lakes. It was a very special tribute to a very special ship. She would carry that flag proudly on her stern just below Old Glory.

The early service record of the EDMUND FITZGERALD was truly awe-inspiring. She was the most famous ship in the ore fleet; highly respected and thoroughly admired. Every Mariner wanted to serve aboard her. And those who did loved her very much.