Worst Maritime Disaster
The crashing of the Lady Elgin has to be the worst maritime accident in the Great Lakes history in terms of loss of life. “People washed up all along the entire shoreline of the lake,” Baillod said of the disaster’s aftermath. The Lady Elgin crash was uncovered in 1989 off the coast of Highwood, Illinois, after being lost for 128 years.
Worst Maritime Disaster
S.S. Francisco Morazan
Thankfully, no other shipwreck on Lake Michigan has claimed as many lives, but many more have sunk over time. The cargo ship S.S. Francisco Morazan sailed away across Lake Michigan from Chicago as recently as 1960. The ship lost its bearings in a snowstorm and came to a stop just 300 yards from the shore. Fortunately, the staff of 13 and the captain’s pregnant wife have all been rescued, despite the fact that the ship was a total loss.
S.S. Francisco Morazan
