Historic lake freighter Anderson visits Grand Haven for the first time
Grand Haven, MI – On Tuesday night, the steamship Arthur M. Anderson visited Grand Haven for the first time in its storied 69-year career. It arrived in port at sunset, blasting two master salutes on the way in. The vessel offloaded a load of stone at the Verplank dock in Ferrysburg and was outbound early Wednesday morning.
There are few vessels sailing the Great Lakes with as much historical significance as the Arthur M. Anderson. Not only is it one of the last operating steamships on the Great Lakes, but it was the last vessel to have visual, radio, and radar contact with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
The Anderson was built for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company, which was a division of the United States Steel Corporation. The vessel’s namesake, Mr. Arthur Marvin Anderson, was a director of United States Steel Corporation and a member of its finance committee. He was also vice-chairman of J.P. Morgan & Company. The Anderson originally measured 647 feet long, 70 feet wide, and 36 feet deep. Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin lengthened the vessel 120 feet in 1975 and would later convert it to a self-unloader during the winter of 1982. It currently measures 767 feet long, 70 feet wide, and 36 feet deep.
On November 10th, 1975, the Arthur M. Anderson and Edmund Fitzgerald were sailing in close proximity battling an intense gale on Lake Superior. The Fitzgerald had taken on water and lost their radars. The vessels were closing in on the shelter of Whitefish Bay when the bridge crew of the Anderson saw the lights of the Fitzgerald disappear into a snow squall and disappear off their radar.
The Anderson reported the Fitzgerald missing to the Coast Guard and attempted to search for the ship. After safely reaching Whitefish Bay, the Anderson was contacted by the Coast Guard to go back out and conduct another search.
The bond between Great Lakes sailors was on full display that night as the crews of the Anderson and other vessels put their own safety aside to search for their fellow mariners.
Ultimately, there were no signs of survivors. The Anderson sighted a piece of a lifeboat, and later a damaged lifeboat. The latter was recovered and can be found onboard the museum ship Valley Camp in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, immortalized in song by Gordon Lightfoot, is the most well-known shipwreck in Great Lakes History. The Arthur M. Anderson and its crew will never be forgotten for the role they played that fateful November night.
If you want to learn more about the Edmund Fitzgerald, there is no shortage of information on the subject. I would recommend the books S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald: Requiem for the Toledo Express by Raymond Ramsay and Mighty Fitz: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Michael Schumaker. Additionally, there are radio recordings between Captain Bernie Cooper of the Anderson and the Coast Guard from the night the Fitz sank on Youtube.
Other traffic we had over the past week was Lower Lakes Towing’s motor vessel Michipicoten at Meekhof’s D&M on Harbor Island. The Michipicoten came in Sunday afternoon with a load of stone and departed later that night with assistance from the Great Lakes Towing tug Cleveland, which came in from Chicago.
Grand Haven Tribune, Samuel Hankinson
Video: USS Cod at Donjon Shipyard, Erie Pa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cxLDHukRF4
