The Loss of the SS Morrell

Some of the worst storms on the Great Lakes in recorded history have taken place in November. These storms have proven deadly to late season shipping. Perhaps the best known example of this is the sinking of the ore freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in November 1975. But there have been many others, including the loss of the S.S Daniel J. Morrell on Lake Huron in November 1966.

At 11:00 P.M on Saturday November 26, 1966, the 603 foot long ore freighter S.S. Daniel J. Morrell departed the Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna, New York, and headed out into Lake Erie. The trip into Lackawanna was supposed to be the last one of the season, but another one of Bethlehem Steel's ships had broken down in Taconite Harbor, Minnesota. The Daniel J. Morrell, which was also owned by Bethlehem Steel, would have to make one more run and go to Minnesota to get that load of iron ore and bring it back to Lackawanna.

The SS Daniel J. Morrell was a 603-foot (184 m) Great Lakes freighter that broke up in a strong storm on Lake Huron on 29 November 1966, taking with it 28 of its 29 crewmen. The freighter was used to carry bulk cargos such as iron ore but was running with only ballast when the 60-year-old ship sank.

Laboring in heavy seas, the "Morrell" began to suddenly crack in half at about two in the morning of November 29, 1966. As the bow and stern sections slowly separated, several men boarded the forward life raft, including 26 year old Watchman Dennis Hall. As the bow sank, to the amazement of the men on the raft, the stern kept going under it's own power with lights blazing. When the sections were finally found, the stern was found to have moved approximately five miles and stayed afloat for 90 minutes on its own, a concept I still find difficult to fathom. After 38 hours in the raft and suffering from severe frostbite, Dennis Hale was rescued, and was eventually found to be the sole survivor of the sinking.