Water came in’: 60 years ago, the freighter Cedarville sank in the Straits of Mackinac

Brendan Wiesner
Sault Ste. Marie News

MACKINAW CITY — On May 7, 1965, the SS Cedarville sank beneath the waters of the Straits of Mackinac after a collision just one mile east of the Mackinac Bridge. Of the 35 crew on board the bulk carrier that day, 10 were killed.

On the 60th anniversary of the tragic sinking, let’s revisit the famous ship, what led up to the fateful collision and the aftermath.

The SS Cedarville plied the waters of the Great Lakes for almost 40 years, ferrying loads of limestone from port to port. The ship started its career as the A.F. Harvey, and was the fleet mate of the Carl D. Bradley when it sailed for the Pittsburg Steamship Company before being transferred to the Bradley Transportation Company in 1956.

In 1964, the captain of the Cedarville was supposed to be Elmer Fleming, who was one of two survivors from the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley in 1958. When Fleming stepped on board the Cedarville for the first time, it’s said that he stood there for a moment, then turned around and walked off.

“There were two survivors of the Bradley, Elmer Fleming was one of them. Fleming was supposed to be captain of the Cedarville, but when he got on he realized it was not for him and he got off right away,” said Sean Ley, development officer of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.

Fleming resigned his position and never publicly gave a reason for doing so. First mate Martin Joppich became captain and led the crew on the Cedarville’s final voyage.

The final voyage

 In May 1965, the Cedarville began its final voyage from Rogers City, Michigan on its way to Gary, Indiana.

As they got underway, heavy fog moved into the area and caused low visibility. In fact, it’s reported that two ships had grounded near the Soo Locks and another had crashed into the Gray’s Reef Lighthouse.

As they entered the busy straits, the Cedarville was in communication with other passing ships. One warned them that they would soon encounter the MV Topdalsfjord. Even with the warning, miscommunication between the two ships led the Cedarville and the Topdalsfjord into a collision.

Collision

 Although the ships tried to avoid each other by changing course and ordering a full reverse, their intentions were not clearly communicated to each other. The Topdalsfjord struck the port side of the Cedarville, creating significant damage below the waterline and causing the ship to flood.

“Great Lakes ships at the time didn’t have bulkheads, so water came in and flooded the cargo hold,” said Ley. “Water came in and started weighing it down to the point where it was too dense to sail properly.”

The ship began to list to one side, and efforts to save the ship proved futile. Although Joppich tried to beach the Cedarville, it could not make it the 4 miles to land.

At 10:25 a.m., without an order to abandon ship, the Cedarville sank beneath the waves.

Aftermath

 Ten of the crew were killed in the wreck. The rest were plucked from the frigidly cold water by the nearby MV Weissenburg. One of the problems they faced was the cold. Hypothermia was why they lost 10 men,” said Ley.

According to the May 7, 1965 edition of the Petoskey News-Review, “fog was so thick, air search was virtually impossible. Bystanders on the shore were unable to tell what had happened because of the thick fog and could not give an accurate picture of what happened,” the article stated.

The next day, the News-Review interviewed Ivan Trafelet, a watchman from Rogers City, who survived the sinking. “We didn’t see the Norwegian ship until it was practically into our side,” Trafelet said in the May 8, 1965 article. “We blew one blast but she didn’t answer us.”

Trafelet said he was thrown into the icy water and it took 30 minutes for him to be picked up.

“I had swallowed a lot of water and had just about had it,” he said. “They had to lift me into the boat. We were fully lucky the German ship was so near.”

Later, a U.S. Coast Guard inquiry into the incident found Joppich at fault for the sinking. He was charged with four counts of faulty seamanship. As a result, his license was suspended for a year. The wreck of the SS Cedarville lies about 110 feet deep in the Straits of Mackinac.

The shipwreck

 The Cedarville is the fourth largest ship that has been lost on the Great Lakes.

The wreck lies about 110 feet deep in the straits. At its highest point, the hull is just 35 feet below the surface. The wreck is accessible by expert divers, but three divers have died visiting the site.

“It’s not that deep but you have to know what you’re doing because it’s still a shipwreck,” said Ley, who has personally dove down to the Cedarville shipwreck. “Because it’s a shallow wreck, you can swim all around it and even go into the kitchen and see the canned food left behind.”

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