Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2015 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== (note: while some formatting changes were necessary to transcribe this document the content remains entirely as written in the official report.) From: Marine Board of Investigation To: Commandant (G-MMI) Subj: S. S. EDMUND FITZGERALD, O. N. 277437; sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975, with loss of life FINDINGS OF FACT (continued) ---------------- 14. Inspections ----------- The last inspection conducted on FITZGERALD was a Spar Deck Inspection which took place on 31 October 1975, in Toledo, OH while the vessel was unloading. This inspection was conducted under guidelines set out in Commander Ninth Coast Guard District Instruction 5941.1C, 28 August 1970, which calls for an inspec- tion during the operating season of the Spar Deck areas most susceptible to severe wastage and damage on those Great Lakes ore carriers which have a portion of the Spar Deck stringer enclosed within the hatch coaming. Inspections of Great Lakes vessels are normally performed during the winter lay-up period. However, during the winter lay-up, Great Lakes vessels are usually on shore power with only a watchman on board. Because it would be necessary to provide extra personnel and electrical power to remove the hatches and because the decks of the vessels are frequently covered with ice and snow during the winter lay-up, Spar Deck Inspections, which are considered part of the vessel's regular, annual inspection, are conducted during the operating season while a vessel is loading or unloading. In this way inspection can be performed while hatch covers are removed, allowing a detailed inspection of the deck and other structure within the hatch coaming. Typically, Spar Deck Inspections performed by the Coast Guard are coordinated with surveys performed by the classification society, and the 31 October inspection was conducted by a Coast Guard inspector, an ABS surveyor, an ABS surveyor trainee, and a representative of Oblebay-Norton Company, the operator of the FITZGERALD. The 31 October inspection disclosed discrepancies at No. 13 hatch, No. 15 hatch, No. 16 hatch, and at No. 21 hatch. The discrepancy in No. 13 hatch was a notch, less than one inch 80 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- in depth, in the inboard edge of the Spar Deck inner stringer on the port side of the hatch opening, approximately 3 ft. aft of the forward coaming. The discrepancy in the No. 15 hatch was a gouge, less than one inch in depth, in the inboard edge of the Spar Deck inner stringer on the port side of the hatch opening approximately 3 ft. aft of the forward coaming. The inspector stated that a notch was a defect which had been made by a sharp edge, while a gouge was made by a side blow or scraping motion. The discrepancy in No. 16 hatch consisted of an indentation and a crack in the port hatch and girder. The hatch end girder was an 18 inch deep channel beam which constituted the port and starboard extremes of the hatch opening. On Figure (4) (p. 12) this structural member is designated 18"x4.200x58# [. The Coast Guard inspector testified that the crack ran vertically and was eight to ten inches in length. He also testified that he believed that the channel, i.e., the hatch end girder, was 14 or 16 inches deep. The ABS surveyor thought that the indentation was approximately one and one-half inches deep and that the crack was more on the order of four to six inches in length. The discrepancy in No. 21 hatch was a crack in the weld at the intersection of the hatch coaming and the hatch end girder, on the starboard side, aft. This crack was approximately one inch in length. Both the Coast Guard inspector and the ABS surveyor testified that they believed that these four discrepancies were typical of damage noted on other ore carriers where dockside offloading equipment was used. At the conclusion of this Spar Deck Inspection, the Coast Guard inspector telephoned the Marine Safety Office, Toledo, OH, and discussed the discrepancies with the Senior Inspector, Materiel. As a result of the telephone call, during the coarse of which the Commanding Officer was consulted concerning these discrepancies, the inspector obtained approval to prepare a Merchant Marine Inspection Requirement (form CD-835) concerning these discrepancies, requiring that they be repaired prior to 81 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- the beginning of the 1976 season. It was anticipated that the discrepancies listed on the Form CG-835 would be repaired as soon as the ship laid up at the conclusion of the 1975 season. Following the Spar Deck Inspection, the vessel sailed, and, in follow-up, on 4 November, the Commanding Officer of the Marine Safety Office, Toledo, OH, sent a letter to the operators of the vessel concerning the results of the Spar Deck Inspection. This letter called for rewelding the discrepancies in hatches 13, 15 and 21, and for cropping and renewing the fractured section of the hatch end girder on the port side of hatch No. 16. It stated that FITZGERALD was authorized to operate until the repairs were made and that the repairs should be completed prior to 1 April 1976. The Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection for the SS EDMUND FITZGERALD was issued in Toledo, OH, on 9 April 1975 to expire on 9 April 1976. The certificate was issued following an inspection which had been conducted during the period between 3 February 1975 and 9 April 1975 while the vessel was in winter lay-up in Toledo, OH. At the completion of this inspection, there were two requirements which remained outstanding. One of these involved lifting and setting safety valves and con- ducting operational tests of the automation safety devices on the auxiliary boiler. This requirement was completed on 18 July 1975. The other requirement called for posting a fire control plan in accordance with new regulations. The plan had not been posted prior to the loss of FITZGERALD, and the operator had anticipated that it would not be available during the 1975 operating season. The Spar Deck Inspection, completed on 17 October 1974, in Cleveland, OH, with the notation "Spar Deck was satisfactory," was considered part of the inspection for certification which took place in the Spring of 1975. 82 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the course of the inspection for certification, a weight test was performed on the No. 1 boat and the boat was launched and a boat drill was conducted with eight members of the crew being exercised at oars. Since the vessel was moored port side to during the lay-up period, the No. 2 boat was swung out but not put into the water. The Certificate of Inspection calls for lifesaving equipment for 49 persons and requires a total of 83 adult life preservers. When the inspection for certification began, there were 95 life preservers on board. During the course of the inspection, 6 life preservers were rejected, leaving a total of 89 satisfactory life preservers on board, 6 in excess of the required 83. The American Bureau of Shipping also conducted an Annual Survey of Hull, Machinery and Boilers, part of the Continuous Machinery Survey and an Annual Load Line Inspection during the 1974-75 winter lay-up. This survey was completed on 9 April 1975 with no outstanding requirements. FITZGERALD was last drydocked in Cleveland, OH, in April 1974. At that time the accessible areas of the interior and exterior of the hull were inspected. This inspection was completed on 20 April 1974, with satisfactory repairs of damage to the sheer strake, and of cracking in the welds in the hatch end girders and keelsons (see paragraph 10). 83 ===========================================================================