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We are approaching the 50th anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. The 1975 shipwreck claimed the lives of all 29 on board, and the cause of the sinking is still a mystery. The wreckage has been off-limits to divers, with just a few exceptions in the last 50 years. It's been designated as a gravesite for the sailors who perished, and out of respect for their families. Sinking Theories The leading theory and most probable explanation is that the Edmund Fitzgerald had improperly secured and faulty hatch covers. When the ship faced some of the heaviest seas her Captain had ever seen on November 10th, she took on water. The extra weight of the water in the cargo hold caused the ship to ride lower in the waves and bottom out deeper and deeper in the swells, until eventually she just went under the water and straight to the bottom of Lake Superior. The sinking happened so fast that no lifeboats were deployed. There was no distress signal. The ship went down quickly. Did It Break In Half? Others hypothesize that the ship broke in half, caused by a structural failure in the keel of the ship. There had been documented reports of a loose keel that had been patched together over the years with welds, but the problem kept recurring. The wreckage was found on the bottom of Lake Superior in two large sections, 200 feet apart. Some say that if the ship broke in half on the surface, the sections would have blown further apart. Leading Explanation The leading explanation is that the ship took on water through the hatch covers and damaged vents, and lost its buoyancy. When it smashed into 35-foot waves, it couldn't recover and sank quickly to the depths of Lake Superior. Loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore, the ship sank like a rock. The structure weakened and broke apart as the ship was going down. We Have The Technology To Investigate Now A Detroit Free Press article interviewed diver and documentary filmmaker Ric Mixter. He believes that with current technology, we could do sonar scans and solve the mystery once and for all. The Canadian government passed a law in 2006 that prohibits any diving without government approval. The only time anyone dived the wreckage was once in the 90s. Mixter spoke at the University of Michigan and shared photos and evidence of hatches not being secured. He also shares interviews with former Fitzgerald crew members who warned that the Captain was a maverick and pushed the ship too far. Mixter believes that enough time has passed, and most of the people who were opposed to diving the site have since passed away. Mixter believes that we now have the technology that we can finally solve the mystery. But the question is, will the Canadian government ever allow another dive?
