SS Arthur M. Anderson

SS Arthur M. Anderson is a cargo ship of the laker type. She is famous for being the last ship to be in contact with SS Edmund Fitzgerald before Edmund Fitzgerald sank on 10 November 1975. Arthur M. Anderson was also the first rescue ship on the scene in a vain search for Edmund Fitzgerald survivors (there were none). The vessel's namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, was director of U.S. Steel, a member of its finance committee and vice chairman of J.P. Morgan & Co. at the time. The ship was launched in 1952 and is in active service.

Arthur M. Anderson unloading at Huron, Ohio in 2008.
History
Name: SS Arthur M. Anderson
Namesake: Arthur Marvin Anderson
Operator: Great Lakes Fleet, Inc.
Port of registry: Duluth, Minnesota
Builder: American Ship Building Company[1] of Lorain, Ohio
Yard number: 868
Launched: 16 February 1952[1]
Acquired: 7 August 1952
Identification:
Status: Active
General characteristics
Class and type: Lake freighter
Tonnage: 26,525 GT[1]
Length:
Beam: 70 ft (21 m)[1]
Draft: 36 ft (11 m)[1]
Capacity: 25,300 tons [1]

History
SS Arthur M Anderson in August 2002 at a Duluth ore dock.

SS Arthur M. Anderson came out of the drydock of the American Ship Building Company of Lorain, Ohio in 1952.[1] She had a length of 647 feet (197 m), a 70-foot (21 m) beam, a 36-foot (11 m) depth,[1] and a gross tonnage of roughly 20,000 tons. She was second of eight of the AAA class of lake freighters; the others being, in order, SS Philip R. Clarke, SS Cason J. Callaway, SS Reserve, SS J.L. Mauthe, SS Armco, SS Edward B. Greene, and SS William Clay Ford. Arthur M. Anderson, along with Philip R. Clarke and Cason J. Callaway, were built for the Pittsburgh Steamship Division of U.S. Steel. Arthur M Anderson's sea trials commenced on 7 August 1952, and she loaded her first cargo at the Two Harbors dock on 12 August 1952. She received several refits in her life including the addition of a new 120-foot (37 m) midsection in 1975 which added about 6,000 tons to her gross tonnage, bringing the total to about 26,000 tons. During the Lake Superior storm on November 10, 1975, she was operating in close company with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and reported its loss to the USCG. In 1981 she received a self unloading boom which improved her cargo loading and unloading. She is unique among the three Great Lakes Fleet steamships in that she has a softer midsection that prohibits loading as much cargo as the others; roughly 1500 tons less.[1][3]

In February 2015 Arthur M. Anderson became stuck and stranded in several feet of ice in Lake Erie near Conneaut Harbor, Ohio.[4][5] Arthur M. Anderson was freed from the ice on 21 February 2015 after five days with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS Griffon. CCGS Samuel Risley was slated to escort Arthur M. Anderson to Detroit. USCGC Bristol Bay had also become stranded while attempting to free the ship from the up to 10-foot (3.0 m) thick ice.[6]

Arthur M. Anderson was put on long-term lay-up in Duluth, Minnesota on 15 January 2017, at the end of the 2016 shipping season.[7] In April 2019, she was transferred to the nearby Fraser Shipyard for a five-year survey and refitting to prepare for her return to service.[8] The vessel returned to service on 25 July 2019.[9]

Notes
  1. During the winter of 1974–1975, she was lengthened 120 feet by Fraser Shipyards, Superior, Wisconsin[2] to an overall length of 767 feet[1]

References
  1. "Vessel Documentation Query". NOAA/US Coast Guard. April 29, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  2. "Inland Seas". 31–32. Great Lakes Historical Society. 1975: 248. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ABS trim and stability booklet
  4. Danylko, Ryllie (February 21, 2015). "Coast Guard struggles to free freighter stuck in Lake Erie en route to Conneaut". cleveland.com. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  5. Geftos, Tony (February 22, 2015). "2 cutters to free freighter from Lake Erie ice". 13abc.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  6. Danylko, Ryllie (February 22, 2015). "Canadian Coast Guard rescues freighter trapped in Lake Erie ice". cleveland.com. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  7. "Arthur M. Anderson". BoatNerd.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  8. Slater, Brady (July 19, 2019). "Historic ore boat nears return to service following long layoff". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  9. Schmidt, Ellen (July 25, 2019). "Photos: Arthur M. Anderson returns to service". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
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