View source for SS Cotopaxi

{{Short description|American bulk carrier sunk in 1925}}
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{|{{Infobox Ship Begin }}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:American steamship SS Cotopaxi (built 1918).png
|Ship image size=
|Ship caption= The ''Cotopaxi'' in Pará, Brazil, 1919
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= [[United States]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|USA|1921}}
|Ship name=''Cotopaxi''
|Ship namesake=[[Cotopaxi]] volcano
|Ship owner=*[[United States Shipping Board|USSB]] (1918)
*Clinchfield Navigation Co. (1919–1925)
|Ship operator=
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=5 March 1918
|Ship builder=[[Great Lakes Engineering Works]], [[Ecorse, Michigan|Ecorse]]
|Ship original cost={{usd}}827,648.48
|Ship yard number=209
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= 29 August 1918
|Ship launched= 15 November 1918
|Ship completed=
|Ship commissioned=30 November 1918
|Ship christened=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship homeport=*[[New York City|New York]]
|Ship identification=*US Official Number: 217270
*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: LNWH
*{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Whiskey}}{{ICS|Hotel}} 
|Ship fate=Foundered off Jacksonville, Florida, December 1925
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type=Design 1060 ship
|Ship tonnage=*{{GRT|2351}}
*{{NRT|1433}}
*{{DWT|4062}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|253|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars|registered length]]
|Ship beam={{convert|43|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth={{convert|25|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship power=*211 [[Nominal horsepower|Nhp]]
* {{cvt|1350|ihp|lk=on}}
*2 x [[Scotch marine boiler]]s
|Ship propulsion=*[[Great Lakes Engineering Works]] 3-cylinder [[triple expansion engine|triple expansion]]
|Ship speed={{convert|9.0|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=30-32
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

{{Paranormal}}

'''SS ''Cotopaxi''''' was an [[United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation|Emergency Fleet Corporation]] (EFC) Design 1060 bulk carrier built for the [[United States Shipping Board]] (USSB) under the World War I emergency shipbuilding program. The ship, launched 15 November 1918, was named after the [[Cotopaxi]] stratovolcano of [[Ecuador]]. The ship arrived in [[Boston]], 22 December 1918, to begin operations for the USSB, through 23 December 1919, when ''Cotopaxi'' was delivered to the Clinchfield Navigation Company under terms of sale.

During operation for the USSB the ship suffered serious damage in a grounding on the coast of [[Brazil]], and later, operating for Clinchfield Navigation, was involved in a collision with a tug in [[Havana]],  Cuba, resulting in the tug being sunk. She and a crew of thirty-two vanished in December 1925, while en route from [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], South Carolina, to Havana, with a cargo of coal.

The wreck was discovered in the 1980s, but not identified until January 2020.

==Description==
''Cotopaxi'' was one of seventeen EFC Design 1060 {{DWT|4200}}, {{GRT|2351}} steam-powered "Laker" type bulk carrier ships built for the USSB by the [[Great Lakes Engineering Works]] (GLEW), River Rouge Yard, [[Ecorse, Michigan|Ecorse]], Michigan, as hull number 209. The design was unique to GLEW<ref group=note>The twenty-four 1060 ships were built at one of the two yards. Seven were built at the Ashtabula Yards, [[Ashtabula, Ohio|Ashtabula]], Ohio, with the remaining seventeen ships built at the River Rouge Yards, Ecorse.</ref> with deckhouse and engines aft (a design commonly termed a "Stemwinder") with four cargo hatches forward served by two masts.<ref name=McK>{{cite web |url=http://www.shipscribe.com/mckellar/Contract5.pdf |title=Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921, Contract Steel Ships, Part V |last=McKellar |first=Norman L. |work=Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921 |pages=321–322 |publisher=ShipScribe }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shipscribe.com/mckellar/pix/1060.html |title=EFC Design 1060: Illustrations |last=McKellar |first=Norman L. |work=Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921 {Illustrations) |publisher=ShipScribe }}</ref><ref group=note>The reference, [http://www.shipscribe.com/mckellar/pix/1060.html EFC Design 1060: Illustrations] has inboard profile, plan and photographs of sister ships.</ref>

''Cotopaxi'', official number<ref group=note>The number assigned as the United States unique identifier for commercial vessels prior to the adoption of the [[IMO number]] system introduced in 1987, and mandatory 1 January 1996, by international treaty.</ref> 217270, [[Maritime call sign|signal letters]] '''LNWH''', was {{cvt|253.4|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars|registered length]], {{cvt|43.7|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} beam with a depth of {{cvt|25.1|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |year=1925 |title=Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1925 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_fLbYKZ11YC&pg=PA52 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Collections of the Great Lakes — Vessels — ''Cotopaxi'' |publisher=Bowling Green State University |url= https://greatlakes.bgsu.edu/item/434615 }}</ref> The keel was laid 29 August 1918, with launch on 15 November, and delivery to the USSB on 30 November 1918.<ref name=Hearing/><ref name=GLEW>{{cite book|title=The Great Lakes Engineering Works. The Shipyard and its Vessels |publisher=Marine Historical Society of Detroit |location=Detroit |page=Hull 209 |url=http://www.mhsd.org/glew/8hulls206-249.pdf}}</ref> The Design 1060 ships were propelled by one triple expansion engine of {{convert|1350|ihp|lk=on}} with steam power from two coal fired [[Scotch marine boiler]]s.<ref name=GLEW/> The ship was completed at a cost of $827,648.48 ({{Inflation|US|827000|1918|fmt=eq|r=-3}}).<ref name=Hearing>{{cite book |year=1925 |title=United States Shipping Board and Emergency Fleet Corporation: Hearings: Exhibits to Testimony |volume=Part C |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Government Printing Office |pages=2300–2301 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yX_NAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA2300 }}</ref>

==Operation==
After arrival in [[Boston]], on 22 December 1918, the ship was allocated to a USSB operator serving routes from U.S. ports to the East coast of [[South America]].<ref name=GLEW/> On 16 June 1919, while on a voyage from [[Philadelphia]] to [[Salvador, Brazil]], ''Cotopaxi'' ran aground in the Braganca Channel, [[Pará]], Brazil. After jettisoning some 400 tons of coal the ship limped into port on 19 June, badly damaged, including damage to the engines.<ref name=GLEW/><ref>{{cite journal |date=July 4, 1919 |title=Marine Losses for June 1919 |journal=The Eastern Underwriter |page=19 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=q7gjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR49-IA109}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|date=June 21, 1919 |title=Marine Casualties |journal=The Nautical Gazette |page= 415 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2d5EAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA415}}</ref> Repairs cost nearly {{US$|200000|1919|long=no|round=-5|about=yes}}.<ref name=GLEW/>

On 23 December 1919, ''Cotopaxi'' was delivered to the Clinchfield Navigation Company under terms of a sale at a price of $375,000, with $93,750 to be paid cash, with $281,250 to be paid in three installments of $93,750, on promissory notes secured by mortgage on the ship due on 22 December 1920, 1921, and 1922.<ref name=Hearing/> In 1920, the ship entered [[Havana Harbor]], on a voyage from Charleston, South Carolina, with a cargo of coal and collided with the [[Ward Line]] tug ''Saturno''. ''Cotopaxi'' was not seriously damaged but the tug sank. A case resulting from the accident was on appeal determined to be the equal fault of both vessels and damages were thus allocated.<ref>{{cite journal |date=August 10, 1920 |title=Marine Mishaps |journal=American Shipping |volume= 11|page=82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sh3mAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA8-PA82}}</ref><ref>{{cite court|litigants=The Cotopaxi |vol=20 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=568 |pinpoint= |court=2d Cir. |date=July 5, 1927|url=https://cite.case.law/f2d/20/568/}}</ref>

==Final voyage==
On 29 November 1925, ''Cotopaxi'' departed Charleston, for Havana, under Captain W. J. Meyer, with a cargo of coal and a crew of thirty-two.<ref name=GLEW/><ref name=Times311225/><ref name=SN061225>{{cite news |title=Cotopaxi Still Lost; Lighthouse Men Watch; No Word Since Tuesday |newspaper=The Sunday News |issue=6 December 1925 |page=1 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M4hJAAAAIBAJ&dq=cotopaxi&pg=2089%2C167535}}</ref> On 1 December, ''Cotopaxi'' radioed a distress call reporting that the ship was listing and taking on water<ref name=GLEW/><ref name=Times311225/><ref name=EP270326>{{cite news |title=Ships and the Sea |newspaper=Evening Post |issue=27 March 1926 |page=27 |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19260327.2.161}}</ref> during [[1925 Florida tropical storm|a tropical storm]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19251201&id=DRtiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=sXUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2892,926927&hl=en Lawrence Journal-World December 1, 1925 .p.1]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=0klj8wIChNAC&dat=19251208&printsec=frontpage&hl=en The Spokesman-Review December 8, 1925 .p.2 "Think Ship Typhoon Wreck]</ref> The ship was officially listed as overdue on 31 December.<ref name=Times311225>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Mails and Shipping |date=31 December 1925 |page=18 |issue=44157 |column=D}}</ref>

==Wreck==
The wreck of ''Cotopaxi'' lies {{cvt|35|nmi}} off [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]], Florida.<ref name="npr_2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/02/09/803812433/wrecks-identification-95-years-after-ship-s-disappearance-puts-theories-to-rest|title=Wreck's Identification 95 Years After Ship's Disappearance Puts Theories To Rest|publisher= National Public Radio|author=Hannah Hagemann|date=9 Feb 2020|accessdate=9 Feb 2020}}</ref> She was discovered in the 1980s, but could not be identified, and subsequently dubbed the "Bear Wreck".<ref name="smithsonian_2020">{{cite web |last=Wu |first=Katherine J. |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/lost-ship-rediscovered-after-disappearing-near-bermuda-triangle-95-years-ago-180974109/ |title=Lost Ship Rediscovered After Disappearing Near Bermuda Triangle 95 Years Ago |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine |date=3 Feb 2020 |accessdate=10 Feb 2020}}</ref> ''Cotopaxi'' was identified in January 2020, based on fifteen years of investigation by marine biologist Michael Barnette.<ref name="smithsonian_2020"/><ref name=Newsweek>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/ship-vanished-bermuda-triangle-century-ago-1484311 |title=Ship That Mysteriously Vanished in Bermuda Triangle Almost a Century Ago Discovered |date=28 January 2020 |publisher=Newsweek |accessdate =30 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="npr_2020"/>

==Similar fate for sister ships==
''Cotopaxi'' was one of three of the seventeen Design 1060 ships built at the River Rouge Yard lost and initially listed as missing. ''Coushatta'' (hull 216, ON 217728), renamed ''John Tracy'', was listed as missing on a voyage from [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], Virginia, to Boston, January 1927. The ship is now listed among the [[Collier (ship)|collier]] wrecks of [[Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary]] where ships with coal cargoes are second only to fishing vessels as victims of disaster.<ref name=McK/><ref name=GLEW/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Matthew |last2=Marx |first2=Deborah |last3=Galluzzo |first3=John |year=2015 |title=Shipwrecks of Stellwagen Bank: Disaster in New England's National Marine Sanctuary |location=Charleston, SC |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9781626198043 |lccn=2015935120 |pages=72–74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AIT8CQAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 }}</ref> ''Coverun'' (hull 221, ON 218005), after being renamed  ''Mahukona'', and then sold and operating as ''Santa Clara'', under the [[Brazil]]ian flag, was listed as missing southwest of [[Bermuda]], February 1941, while on a voyage from [[Newport News]] to [[Rio de Janeiro]].<ref name=McK/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hunter |first=H.C. |date=March 1941 |title=Weather on the North Atlantic Ocean |journal=Monthly Weather Review |volume=69 |issue=3 |page=82 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1941)069<0082:WOTNAO>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=1941MWRv...69...82H |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SXPpAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA82|doi-access=free }}</ref> Several were lost due to wartime action, with others lost to other causes. ''Corydon'' (hull 206, ON 217236) foundered in the [[Bahama Channel]] during a hurricane in September 1919. ''Cottonwood'' (hull 211, ON 217423), renamed ''Stanburn'', foundered October 1946, after striking a submerged object.<ref name=McK/>

One of the ships, ''Covena'' (hull 220, ON 217810), became notable as the unique<ref group=note>The other nine port repair ships were conversions from Navy [[Maritime Commission]] [[Type N3 ship|type N3-M-A1]] vessels.</ref> [[U.S. Army Engineer Port Repair ship|U.S. Army Port Repair ship]] [[Junior N. Van Noy (ship)|''Junior N. Van Noy'']]. That ship was first of the port repair ships to sail for Europe where it engaged in repairs at [[Cherbourg]], France.<ref name=McK/><ref Name=rp>{{cite web |url=http://www.history.army.mil/reference/normandy/TS/COE/COE16.htm |title=The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany: CHAPTER XVI Developing Beaches and Reconstructing Ports |access-date=2019-11-15 |archive-date=2010-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111001434/http://www.history.army.mil/reference/Normandy/TS/COE/COE16.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==In fiction==
In the 1977 film ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]'', ''Cotopaxi'' is connected to the legend of the [[Bermuda Triangle]], and is discovered in the [[Gobi Desert]], presumably set there by [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] forces.<ref name="Morton2007">{{cite book|author=Ray Morton|title=Close encounters of the third kind: the making of Steven Spielberg's classic film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-ERraCGxkYC&pg=PA311|accessdate=10 March 2011|date=1 November 2007|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=978-1-55783-710-3|pages=311}}</ref><ref name=BBCFilms>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/11/26/close_encounters_of_the_third_kind_dvd_2007_review.shtml |title=Close Encounters: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition DVD (1977) |publisher=BBC |accessdate=10 March 2011}}</ref>

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* "Lloyd's Posts Cotopaxi as 'Missing'{{-"}}. ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 7, 1926.
* "Efforts to Locate Missing Ship Fail". ''[[The Washington Post]]'', December 6, 1925.
* "Lighthouse Keepers Seek Missing Ship". ''The Washington Post'', December 7, 1925.
* "53 on Missing Craft Are Reported Saved". ''The Washington Post'', December 13, 1925.
{{Bermuda Triangle}}
{{1925 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotopaxi}}
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1925]]
[[Category:Bermuda Triangle]]
[[Category:Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan]]