SS North American

"SS North American" was a Great Lakes steamboat built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ecorse, Michigan in 1913 for the Chicago, Duluth & Georgian Bay Transit Company. The vessel was launched on January 16 1913 and was the oldest of two sister ships, the newer one being the "SS South American".

The "North American" was convert|280|ft|m in length, had a convert|47|ft|m|sing=on beam, and drew convert|17|ft|6|in|m She was equipped with a 2,200 indicated horsepower quadruple expansion steam engine and a three coal-burning Scotch boilers. In 1923 the boilers were converted to burn oil.

In 1963 the "North American" was sold to the Canadian Holiday Co. of Erie, Pennsylvania. The company used her in cross-lake service between Erie, Pennsylvania and Port Dover, Ontario for one year until she was retired in 1964. After being retired from service the "North American" was involved with purchasing deals of uncertain nature, and was finally sold at public auction to the Seafarers International Union in 1967 and she was to be used as a training ship at Piney Point, Maryland.

While the "North American" was on the North Atlantic being towed to Piney Point, she unexpectedly sank on September 4, 1967. The location was convert|25|mi|km northeast from Nantucket Light, where the bottom is at convert|400|ft|m. The wreck still remains at this location.

The "SS North American" has been found. In July 2006, a research team aboard Quest Marine’s R/V Quest located the ship close to the edge of the continental shelf, approximately convert|140|mi|km off the New England coast in convert|250|ft|m of water.

External links

* [http://www.mhsd.org/passenger/northamerican.htm Marine Historical Society of Detroit: SS North American]