SS Cedarville

DATE OF LAUNCH: 1927

DATE AND LOCATION OF LOSS: May 7, 1965, Straits of Mackinac, Lake Huron, near the Mackinac Bridge

DATE LOCATED: May 7, 1965

SHIP DETAILS: Cedarville was built in 1927 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan. The ship was launched as SS A.F. Harvey, and entered service for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company division of US Steel. In 1956, the ship was transferred to the Bradley Transportation Company, still owned by US Steel. As part of the transfer, the ship was converted to be a self-unloading vessel and was renamed Cedarville. She was a fleet mate of the SS Carl D. Bradley.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE LOSS: On May 7, 1965, Cedarville was travelling between Rogers City, Michigan and Gary, Indiana with a load of 14,411 long tons of limestone. One mile east of the Mackinac Bridge, in heavy fog, Cedarville collided with the Norwegian ship MV Topdalsfjord. The collision occurred as a result of miscommunication between the two ships, which both changed their course a mile away from each other, with Topdalsfjord’s captain steering his ship on a course that would lead to the two vessels passing each other on their starboard sides. The captain of Cedarville, however, intended for his vessel to cross the bow of Topdalsfjord, but his message stating such was not received by Topdalsfjord, which continued on a course that led to it colliding with Cedarville’s port side.

While the collision caused only superficial damage above the waterline, consisting mainly of broken railings and deck plates, the bow of Topdalsfjord had created a large hole in Cedarville’s hull below the waterline, and within minutes of the collision a slight list to the port had developed. The captain of Cedarville ordered water to be pumped into the starboard ballast tanks to counteract the list, and intended to try to run the ship aground to prevent it from sinking. As the ship moved towards land, however, the weight of the water within the hull forced the bow down, and the ship began listing to starboard, eventually rolling over before sinking. Most survivors of the collision, in which ten out of the 35 aboard died, were picked up by the German freighter MV Weissenburg, and subsequently transferred to the US Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw.

DISCOVERY AND FINDINGS: The wreck of Cedarville lies in the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve in water around 110 feet deep, although the highest point of the hull is around 35 feet below the surface and the cabins of the ship are around 75 feet underwater. Expert divers are able to enter the ship, as most parts remain fairly undamaged.

INTERESTING FACTS: Cedarville is the fourth largest ship lost on the Great Lakes after Edmund Fitzgerald, Daniel J. Morrell and fleet mate Carl D. Bradley. More divers have lost their lives diving the Cedarville than were lost in the sinking.