Burgner said a shipyard worker showed him evidence of old keel weld breaks during the 1972-73 winter lay-up that were brought to McSorley and dismissed. In a similar vein, Paul Hainault, a retired Michigan Tech University professor, postulated a seiche caused the ship to scrape the bottom of Superior Shoal early that morning and the weakened hull eventually gave out.Įx-Fitzgerald crew member George Burgner claimed in a deposition that unrepaired cracks and weakened metal on the ship caused the loss, according to the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Fred Stonehouse. Of note, the NTSB report included a dissenting opinion that held to this theory. However, divers found no recent damage to the shoal after the wreck and the ship's exact course could only be estimated because the Fitzgerald radars were inoperable and the Anderson kept inexact course records during the journey. If the ship had "hogged" upon striking the shoal, it could have caused the topside damage reported by Fitzgerald captain Ernest McSorley in the hours before the sinking. The LCA thinks the Fitzgerald grounded on the poorly-marked Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island, causing fatal damage to the hull. Coast Guard report and seems to be the most popular among mariners and armchair wreck investigators. This theory was advanced by the Lake Carriers Association (LCA) after the U.S.
0 kommentar(er)
