SS Arthur M. Anderson
| 250px SS Arthur M Anderson in August 2002 at a Duluth ore dock. | |
| Career (US) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | SS Arthur M. Anderson |
| Namesake: | Arthur Marvin Anderson |
| Operator: | Great Lakes Fleet, Inc. |
| Builder: | American Ship Building Company[1] of Lorain, Ohio |
| Yard number: | 868 |
| Launched: | 16 February,1952[1] |
| Acquired: | August 1952 |
| Status: | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | AAA class of lake freighter |
| Tonnage: | 12,341 gross tonnage[1] |
| Length: |
647 ft (197 m) (as built)[1] 749.4 ft (228.4 m) feet (2007)[1] |
| Beam: | 70.2 ft (21.4 m)[1] |
| Draft: | 31.3 ft (9.5 m)[1] |
| Capacity: | 9,372 net tonnage[1] |
The 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 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald (before it sank 10 November 1975). The Anderson was also the first rescue ship on the scene in a vain search for Fitzgerald survivors (there were none).
Contents
History
The 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, 70 foot beam, a 36 foot depth,[1] and a gross tonnage of roughly 20,000 tons.[citation needed] She was second of eight of the AAA class of lake freighters; the others being, in order, the SS Philip R. Clarke, SS Cason J. Callaway, SS Reserve, SS J.L. Mauthe, SS Armco, SS Edward B. Greene, and the SS William Clay Ford. She, along with the SS Philip R. Clarke and SS Cason J. Callaway, was built for the Pittsburgh Steamship Division of U.S. Steel. The Anderson's sea-trials commenced on 7 August 1952, and she loaded her first cargo at the Two Harbors dock on August 12th. She received several refits in her life including a new 120 foot mid-section which added about 6,000 tons to her gross tonnage. 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 mid-section that prohibits loading as much cargo as the others; roughly 1500 tons less.[1][2]
Her namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, was director of U.S. Steel at the time.
She has been a member of the U.S. Steel fleet her entire life, and is still sailing as of 2010.
See also
References
External links
Media related to SS Arthur M. Anderson at Wikimedia Commons
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