The SS Cedarville Disaster

on the night of November 18th 1958 Bob Belmore grooming on the Limestone carrier Cedarville listened anxiously for news of their Fleet mate the Carl D Bradley where his brother Doug served as a p both the Cedarville and the Bradley were due in the port of calite that night and both were fighting the same violent storm only one would survive all but two on board the Bradley including Bob's brother Doug would lose their lives that night a few years later in 1964 one of the Bradley survivors Elmer Fleming was scheduled to take command of the Cedarville but only moments after stepping aboard Elmer left the ship for good he would never sail again only one year later the Cedarville would meet her own tragic fate in 1927 the Great Lakes engineering Works sh Shipyard in River Rouge Michigan the same yard that would build the Edmund Fitzgerald 30 years later was commissioned to build a new bulk carrier for the Pittsburgh steamship company a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation labeled hole number 255 the new freighter was designed to carry iron ore she wouldn't be the largest on the Lakes but she would come close with a length of 63.9 Ft or 184 m in a beam of 60.2 Ft or 18.3 meter launched on April 9th 1927 she was originally named the AF Harvey the Harvey was nearly identical to several of the bolt carriers that entered service at around the same time she was equipped with large box-shaped cargo holds designed to efficiently deliver Iron Ore to steel mills her power was generated by three coal-fired Scotch Marine boilers that fed a single triple expansion engine that achieved 2,200 horsepower she was operated by a crew of 35 the AF Harvey entered service in May 1927 but only a year into her career she ran into trouble near to tour Michigan shrouded in heavy Fog she collided with the whaleback steamer John Erikson while damage to the Harvey appeared minimal the Ericson had to be beached to prevent the ship from sinking the Harvey was able to reach toour under her own power repairs were made and she was soon returned to service the Ericson was also refloated and repaired she was briefly re-registered to the Home Port of New York though she never left the great lakes in 1956 She was transferred to the Bradley Transportation Fleet part of the Michigan Limestone division of us steel her registry was returned to the port of duth Minnesota though she operated out of Roger City Michigan during her winter layup at the end of 1956 she underwent a major overhaul at the defo ship building company in Bay City Michigan this refit converted her from an iron ore carrier to a self- unloading Limestone and coal carrier her cargo holds were equipped with a new hopper bottom and two conveyor belts that ran the length of the ship these would carry Stone to a forward mounted bucket elevator that lifted materials to a 250 ft self-loading boom Mount just out of her forward cabins while this equipment reduced her overall cargo capacity it made her significantly more efficient and versatile able to deliver cargo pretty much anywhere without the need for costly and slow shore-based unloading equipment as part of the refit she was painted gray to match the Bradley Fleet Livery and renamed Cedarville after the port in Michigan the Cedarville was also equipped with a modern new funnel she re-entered service at the start of of the 1957 season and operated alongside her new Fleet mate the slightly larger Carl D [Music] Bradley Elmer Fleming's unexpected departure from the Cedarville on March 27th 1964 reshuffled the ship's deck crew first mate Martin jich a sailor with 18 years of experience on the Great Lakes was elevated to Captain while jpic was liked by his crew some found his sudden promotion a mystery an even greater mystery is why exactly Fleming left the ship that day some believe that the foul weather at the time triggered the trauma that he experienced when the Bradley went down years before while he had been deceased since the disaster left him with a nervous disposition who wouldn't after surviving what he did maybe there was something about the Cedarville that didn't feel right either way the ship's new captain assumed command and completed the season in October jait grounded the ship in the St Mary's River the ship required dry docking to patch the damage by the start of the 1965 season it was clear to the crew of the Cedarville that her hole was rapidly aging as far back as the spring of 1961 a coast Garden inspection found serious deterioration of her hole plating and ordered Replacements of the affected areas starting 80 ft after the bow on both sides her hole was made up of 3/8 in steel plating these plates proved susceptible to corrosion causing thinning pitting and other signs of weakness because the cost of the repairs ordered by the Coast Guard would exceed $124,000 and could potentially disrupt the Cedarville busy schedule the previous Captain requested Ed permission to delay the repairs until a more convenient time the request was granted and the work was put off officials from Lloyd's Register of shipping subsequently pushed the Bradley transportation company to invest in the repairs after urging from the ship's Insurance Underwriters but these repairs were pushed off indefinitely even when the Cedarville was dry docked after grounding in October 1964 the company refused to invest in replacing her weakened hole PL in 1961 the ship was reboiled improving her efficiency and slightly increasing her power this was the last major work done on the ship before the 1965 season captain jich and his crew were well aware that the 40-year-old ship was showing her age but these issues were easy to ignore the ships were strong and experienced captains prided themselves on pushing them to their limit the Bradley Transportation fleet was responsible for delivering Limestone to the vast us steel Empire a vital ingredient in steel making used to remove impurities during the blast process captains in the fleet were given extremely optimistic schedules and tonnage requirements with no regard for whether or the complications of operating an aging ship while it was ultimately up to the captain to keep his crew safe and decide if they left Port it was clear that Miss deadlines low tonnage numbers and costly maintenance work could end a master's career with the company the culture of prioritizing profits over safety was pervasive on the lakes and continued well after even high-profile losses like the Carl D Bradley and the Daniel J morale so while Captain chich still a relatively new captain in the fleet probably would have preferred New Hole plating he decided that the ship was seaworthy and the cederville began the 1965 season with the a hefty increase in the tonnage required by the company that year but the weather didn't care about us Steels Limestone quotas and a cold front soon swept through the region the recently cleared Straits of minov Rose over and despite Captain chic's efforts the Cedarville found herself iced in she would have to wait until April 1965 when the weather began to finally cooperate to truly get the season underway after a handful of successful runs Captain chich relaxed a bit but the pressure to keep up was ever present and no doubt played a constant role in his mind now more than ever it is important to bring together quickly and efficiently the jobs to be done and the men and women who can do [Music] them in April 196 5 another vessel half a world away left Denmark Bound for the American Great Lakes by way of the St Lawrence Seaway commanded by Captain Rasmus hokland the 6-year-old MV topal shord was constructed in Guttenberg Sweden and operated by a Norwegian Shipping Company the 6,000 T 423 ft or 129 M long cargo ship was built to withstand the fury of the North Atlantic and the brutal North Sea her was reinforced to break through ice and she was powered by a single diesel engine that could achieve 6,500 horsepower her five cargo holds were loaded with European Goods Bound for Canada and the United States and she was scheduled to return to her home Port of Oslo Norway with a load of grain from Chicago and Port Arthur opened in April 1959 the St Lauren Seaway allowed ships with drafts as deep as 26.9 ft or 8.2 m to operate between the great lakes and the Atlantic Ocean giving access to much larger oceangoing vessels The topdel Fjord arrived in the Great Lakes in mid April 1965 after battling a series of squalls on the North Atlantic she would spend the next few weeks navigating the series of congested locks and waterways that connected the Great Lakes as she unloaded her cargo and prepared for her return voyage by the morning of May 7th she was sailing up Lake Michigan Bound for Port Arthur Ontario the night before a heavy fog had set in over the streets of Mao reducing visibility to only a few hundred ft so dense that captains of the Long Lake freighter couldn't even see the apts of their ships as they made their way through the fog captains had to rely on their radios radar and the rules of the sea as well as their senses as they listened for fog horns in the Eerie Abyss still they plowed forward anxious to keep on schedule the topil for was no different as she sailed East Captain huland monitored the situation closely manually operating the ship's fog whistle himself letting out three short blasts at regular intervals and keeping with Great Lakes regulations as they neared the shadowy outline of the MAA bridge that loomed somewhere in the fog at the end of each school year recruiters from the Bradley Transportation Company would visit Rogers City High School looking to sign new crew members for their Great Lakes Fleet for young graduates who couldn't afford or didn't have the grades or desire to attend college a job on the Lakes could be a pretty solid gig room and board were provided during voyages there was plenty of time off and the pay was decent many young men would spend a couple of years on the Lakes while they saved up money and plan the next chapter of their lives for others it was the start of a lifelong career when Dave Ericson graduated in 1959 he signed on with the shipping company new crew members were placed wherever they were needed and for the first couple of years Dave moved around from the deck crew to the engine room he eventually realized ized that off-duty weeks tended to be more consistent for gy crews in a few years into his career he became a porter on the Cedarville his job involved tending to the captain's and chief Engineers room the officer's dining room and helping prepare meals Before Dawn on May 7th 1965 Dave reported to the Cedarville in Roger City Michigan the ship was scheduled to carry 14,411 tons of Open Hearth Limestone to Gary Indiana the ship left port at 5:00 a.m. giving Dave some time before his shift started at 7:00 so he went to his bunk and took a quick nap the mood on board was cheerful the crew loved overnight breaks in their home Port where they could spend the evening with friends and family after a quick breakfast Dave headed to the captain's cabin to begin his shift as he headed forward the fog was so thick that he couldn't see the other end of the 600t ship the fog horn blared at regular [Music] intervals it was cold around 41° f as he finished his work up front he headed back a to help in the galley he could hear the fog horns of other ships if they neared The Straits the ship had a vegetable bin on the port side of the main deck just outside the galley Dave stepped out to get some potatoes when another Porter Jerome Kik said hey Dave look at this Dave joined him at the railing and looked out to where Jerome pointed near the bow of the ship a dark Mass loomed in the fog heading straight for the ship the Cedarville let out a long blast just as a ship emerged from the fog and slammed into the their port side Dave didn't remember much noise from the Collision only that the ship shuttered like it had been struck by a large wave the ship's bow remained lodged in their side as the Cedarville continued forward Dave and Jerome watched for a moment and then realized that they should go below and grab their life jacket they shared a cabin and quickly got prepared as the ship's warning alarm began blaring Dave then went to the cabins around him to make sure that no one was sleeping as he returned to to the deck he heard the sound of the other ship finally break free and scrape along the side of the Cedarville it passed so close that he could almost Reach Out And Touch it before it once again disappeared into the fog he briefly visited his boss to tell him what happened before heading forward to get a better look at the damage some of the railing and deck plates were buckled but most of the damage seemed to be below the water line he could hear water rushing into the ship beneath him the deck crew lowered an emergency Collision tarpine over the damaged area to try and slow the flooding but the hole was too large and the tarp was almost immediately sucked into the ship a port list was developing and water was pumped into the starboard ballast tanks to level out the ship but it was clear to Dave and the rest of the crew that the Cedarville was in serious danger the order was given to begin preparing the lifeboats while the captain made an attempt to beach the ship Dave reported to his assigned station at Lifeboat number one on the starboard ins side and helped uncover and lower the boat to the main Tech he looked to the bow barely visible in the fog the forward decks were already a wash and the ship was beginning to list the starboard some of the starboard ballast tanks were renting water cederville was already making her final plunge the crew remained calm but moved urgently as the bow pushed below the waves and the ship rolled further to starboard Dave jumped into the Lifeboat joining several of his crewmates but as soon as he got into the boat he heard shouts that it wouldn't release from the falls in a split-second decision he jumped into the water just as a ship abruptly capsized rolling on top of the boat in the crew members inside it in the water Dave felt the shudder as the Cedar's bow hit the lake bed and the Roar of her Limestone cargo spilling out the ship after what felt like an eternity he finally made it to the surface the cold water made it hard to catch his breath he looked for the ship but he only saw about 150 ft of the bottom of her hole he saw the Portside Lifeboat still attached to the capsized ship another crewman desperately banged danged at its releases with an AE finally releasing the boat just as the cedar Bill disappeared beneath the waves as he watched his ship vanished in the churning Lake the reality of what just happened set in Dave was cold and numb held up by just his life jacket he could hear the sounds of fog horns from other ships in the distance he heard men screaming for help all around him finally he saw a life wrapped and swam toward it the men on the raft helped lift him out of the water he was already too weak to pull himself up once he was on the raft he tried to warm himself up his crew mates threw ropes in the water and helped others climb aboard the raft enveloped by The Surreal super fog the men waited [Music] [Music] on the bridge that morning Captain Cho commanded the Cedarville as they sailed for the Straits of MAA visibility was about as bad as it could get but the ship continued forward with the help of RCA radar and a radio direction finder to help establish a position the ship was also equipped with a gyro compass and a standard radio telephone that was manned by the captain all of the navigation communication and operating equipment was in working order while visibility progressively worsened since leaving kelsa Cedarville continued up Lake hon at full speed approximately 11.7 mph as they neared The Mao Bridge Captain chich established contact with the downbound Benson forward a passing Arrangement was verbally agreed upon and the two ships safely passed about half a mile apart from each other the fog at the time was so thick that none of the cille's Lookouts could see the Benson Ford as they passed about 3 or 4 miles from The Mao Bridge Captain jich made radio contact with a German vessel called the vienberg and verbally established a port-to-port passing agreement with her Captain verer may as the vienberg passed under the bridge Captain May warned them that there was a Norwegian vessel not far ahead of them heading for the Cedarville Captain chich tried to contact the ship but he was unsuccessful third mate Charles cook who watched the radar screen warned that the other ship was getting closer accounts of what happened on the bridge over the next few minutes differ Captain chich would later claim that he had already reduced his speed to slow ahead but there's no other record of this and others on the bridge at the time including wheelsman Leonard giac maintained that the ship was only reduced to half speed after failing to make contact with the Norwegian vessel they could now clearly hear the other ship's fog whistle on the Cedarville as the range between the two ships decreased Captain chich ordered a change in course turning to the right but the other ship continued forward he then let out one long blast to Signal a port toport passing tension mounted as the captain continued trying to reach the other Ship by radio then the lookout stationed on the port Bridge Wing shouted out there she is another Lookout stationed on the bow saw her two as the ship emerged from the fog he shouted half a block away by then wheelsman gabric could see her too only about 100 ft ahead of them and closing in fast Captain chich immediately ordered slow ahead just as he issued the order Charles cook shouted captain we're going to hit in a last Stitch effort to avoid the Collision chich ordered full ahead and a hard right turn but it was too late on the top dolls F Captain hogland sailed at a reduced speed as the distance between the two ships closed closed he maintained his heading and ordered his engines dead slow only about 3 or 4 knots they could hear the other ship's fogged signals ahead of them it appeared that they would pass on their starboard side Captain hogland stood outside the Wheelhouse door on his starboard Bridge Wing when he heard the long blast of a ship's whistle suddenly the Cedarville appeared in the fog only about 250 ft away passing right in front of them hogland ordered his engines reversed but again it was too late the reinforced bow of the top dolls F sliced into the Cedarville at an almost perfect right angle on her port side at her number seven hatch at 9:55 on the morning of May 7th 1965 her bow remain lodged in the ship for a few moments before the cedar ville's forward momentum pulled the two ships apart the Cedarville disappeared into the fog despite her damaged bow the top doll F's crew was unharmed and the ship was not in any serious danger of sinking her two lifeboats were launched to search for survivors but no one was found after a few hours it was confirmed that other ships were able to Aid the Cedarville and the damaged Norwegian ship sailed to see St Marie they were lucky the true horror transpired only a few hundred ft away in the fog [Music] it was clear to Captain chage that the damage to his ship was serious but in the moments after the Collision he felt that it was possible to save the Cedarville he ordered the engine stopped and sounded a general alarm then radio to made a message and dropped the ship's Port anchor the accident was reported to the MAA Island Coast Guard Station in the nearby vienberg soon Captain jich learned that the ship was taking on a tremendous amount of water and the emergency Collision tarpine failed to slow the flooding he then ordered all crew not assisting in the engine room or bridge to report to their musk stations and prepare the lifeboats then Captain jobic decided that he would make a run for it and try to beach the sinking ship the anchor was raised and the engines were ordered Full Ahead the starboard Bast tanks were filled to try to even out the list but instead of heading for a closer Beach or sh Captain chich set his sights on Mino City third mate Charles cook quickly plotted a course that would prove both wrong and hopelessly overoptimistic the nearest shallow Graham sha was only about 1 mile away and perhaps reachable while old MAA point was an Out Of Reach 2.2 m miles away the forward motion only pushed the cedar ville's bow deeper and it was abundantly clear that the ship would be gone in only a matter of minutes still no order to abandon the ship was ever given soon the Cedarville began listening to starboard as her bow plunged deeper Leonard gabric was the only one on the bridge to Dawn a life jacket immediately after the Collision as he escaped the flooding ship he saw third mate Charles cook struggling to put his life jacket on he lost sight of him when the ship healed over Charles Cook's body was never found Captain chich was pulled from the water clinging to his life jacket immediately after receiving the Cedarville distress calls Captain May on the German freighter vienberg followed the alien ship closely while they could not see the ship go down in the fog they knew what happened when the Cedarville disappeared from the radar screen and they immediately launched their lifeboats to search for survivors Dave Ericson's raft was soon pulled alongside the vienberg the German crew helped them aboard and immediately gave the men blankets and warm clothing as well as hot coffee and tea as Dave warmed up and regained his senses he saw the German Sailors performing CPR on some of his fellow crew members two would die on the vienberg from shock in hypothermia out of the 35 crew members on the Cedarville 10 lost their lives all but one of the engine crew on duty at the time went down with the ship the survivors were soon transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter MAA and brought to local hospitals Dave was treated for his injuries and then driven home to Roger City where he was reunited with his wife and two children he and his fellow survivors spent the rest of their lives trying to understand what happened that day in the immediate aftermath of the sinking us steel went into overdrive to protect its reputation after yet another one of its ships met an untimely end the loss of the Carl D Bradley was still fresh in people memory and another accident blamed on poor maintenance could prove costly fortunately for them the Aging underpowered poorly designed ship along with their lack of a safety culture was easily overshadowed by the actions of Captain jich while us steel initially tried to blame the accident on the crew of the top dolls F an investigation by the United States Coast Guard quickly turned its focus to what happened on the Cedarville us Steel's lawyer attempted to invoked the Fifth Amendment or the right to remain silent on behalf of Captain japic but a federal judge ruled that The Plea did not apply under maritime law and the captain had to submit to questioning his testimony not only contradicted the testimony given by other surviving crew members but he also contradicted what was recorded in the ship's logs and other documentation the inquiry found his testimony to be self-serving and largely false ultimately it was ruled that Captain hogland and the topil F operated with reasonable caution given the conditions by reducing their speed and observing established Maritime passing rules blame for the accident and loss of life fell on Captain japic and he eventually pleaded guilty to the charges against his master's license it was determined that the Cedarville moving at her top speed was sailing far too fast given the low visibility and volume of ship traffic Captain chich failed to establish a radar plot or follow established track lines despite ample warning over radio radar and through fog signals that another ship was approaching once the Collision occurred Captain jpic failed to realize the gravity of the situation and while his attention to ground the ship was reasonable he failed to establish their position and plot a course to the nearest shallow he squandered those critical moments when he might have been able to save all of his crew and his ship perhaps most most damning he failed to issue an order to abandon ship nearly all of his engine crew remained at their stations long after it was abundantly clear that the ship was doomed though he avoided criminal liability Captain japic was stripped of his master's license he would never sail again questions remain over the level to which US Steel in its culture of profits over safety at the time contributed to the disaster many vict families maintained that the company created an unsafe work environment and questioned whether jich was ever fit to serve as a captain in the first place legal battles over liability stretched on for years the inquiry also determined that the crew of the vienberg acted heroically Captain May remained in the area even after Captain chich declined his help immediately after the Collision they acted quickly to get men out of the water as soon as POS possible with the low visibility and cold temperatures it's all but certain that the death toll would have been significantly higher if not for their actions but in the end the Cedarville became just another casualty of the Lakes overshadowed by greater Horrors the wreck lies upside down on the bed of Lake hon a popular albeit dangerous diving site a ghostly reminder of the risks sailor take every day to move our world forward thank you so much for watching don't forget to support the Channel with a like comment and subscribe if you haven't already we'd love to welcome you aboard I'd like to give a special shout out to my supporters on patreon and my channel members for helping keep this channel afloat all right crew that's all I've got until the next one be nice to people

Channel: Big Old Boats

Views: 127,314

Keywords: ss cedarville, cedarville, lake huron, lake huron shipwreck, great lakes shipwreck, great lakes history, great lakes

Id: iifyQO5RfVE

Length: 32min 22sec (1942 seconds)

Published: Sat May 11 2024