SS ''Cotopaxi'' was an Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) Design 1060 bulk carrier built for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was a corporation established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting ...

(USSB) under the World War I emergency shipbuilding program. The ship, launched 15 November 1918, was named after the

Cotopaxi Cotopaxi () is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located near Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about south of Quito, and northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador (after Chim ...

stratovolcano of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. The ship arrived in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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 Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and later, operating for Clinchfield Navigation, was involved in a collision with a tug in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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 , steam-powered "Laker" type bulk carrier ships built for the USSB by the Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW), River Rouge Yard, Ecorse, Michigan, as hull number 209. The design was unique to GLEWThe twenty-four 1060 ships were built at one of the two yards. Seven were built at the Ashtabula Yards,

Ashtabula Ashtabula ( ) is the most populous city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. It lies at the mouth of the Ashtabula River, on Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland. At the 2020 census, the city had 17,975 people. Like many other cities in the ...

, Ohio, with the remaining seventeen ships built at the River Rouge Yards, Ecorse. with deckhouse and engines aft (a design commonly termed a "Stemwinder") with four cargo hatches forward served by two masts.The reference
EFC Design 1060: Illustrations
has inboard profile, plan and photographs of sister ships. ''Cotopaxi'', official numberThe number assigned as the United States unique identifier for commercial vessels prior to the adoption of the

IMO number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term with two distinct applications: * the IMO ship identification number is a unique ship identifier; or, * the IMO company and registered owner identification number is u ...

system introduced in 1987, and mandatory 1 January 1996, by international treaty. 217270, signal letters LNWH, was registered length, beam with a depth of . The keel was laid 29 August 1918, with launch on 15 November, and delivery to the USSB on 30 November 1918. The Design 1060 ships were propelled by one triple expansion engine of with steam power from two coal fired

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a short horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

s. The ship was completed at a cost of $827,648.48 ().

Operation

After arrival in

, 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 South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. On 16 June 1919, while on a voyage from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Salvador, Brazil Salvador () is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine, music, and arch ...

, ''Cotopaxi'' ran aground in the Braganca Channel,

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

, Brazil. After jettisoning some 400 tons of coal the ship limped into port on 19 June, badly damaged, including damage to the engines. Repairs cost nearly . 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. In 1920, the ship entered

Havana Harbor Havana Harbor is the port of Havana, the capital of Cuba, and it is the main port in Cuba. Other port cities in Cuba include Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Manzanillo, Cuba, Manzanillo, and Santiago de Cuba. The harbor was created from the natural Havan ...

, on a voyage from Charleston, South Carolina, with a cargo of coal and collided with the

Ward Line The New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company, commonly called the Ward Line, was a shipping company that operated from 1841 until liquidated in 1954. The line operated out of New York City's Piers 15, 16, and 17—land which later became the site ...

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.

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. On 1 December, ''Cotopaxi'' radioed a distress call reporting that the ship was listing and taking on water during a tropical storm. The ship was officially listed as overdue on 31 December.

Wreck

The wreck of ''Cotopaxi'' lies off St. Augustine, Florida. She was discovered in the 1980s, but could not be identified, and subsequently dubbed the "Bear Wreck". ''Cotopaxi'' was identified in January 2020, based on fifteen years of investigation by marine biologist Michael Barnette.

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 Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, Virginia, to Boston, January 1927. The ship is now listed among the collier wrecks of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary where ships with coal cargoes are second only to fishing vessels as victims of disaster. ''Coverun'' (hull 221, ON 218005), after being renamed ''Mahukona'', and then sold and operating as ''Santa Clara'', under the

ian flag, was listed as missing southwest of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, February 1941, while on a voyage from

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. 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. One of the ships, ''Covena'' (hull 220, ON 217810), became notable as the uniqueThe other nine port repair ships were conversions from Navy

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

type N3-M-A1 vessels. U.S. Army Port Repair 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 Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, France.

In fiction

In the 1977 film ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...

'', ''Cotopaxi'' is connected to the legend of the

Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a loosely defined region in the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly bounded by Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Since the mid-20th century, it has been the focus of an urban legend sug ...

, and is discovered in the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (, , ; ) is a large, cold desert and grassland region in North China and southern Mongolia. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. The name of the desert comes from the Mongolian word ''gobi'', used to refer to all of th ...

, presumably set there by extraterrestrial forces.

Description

Operation

Final voyage

Wreck

Similar fate for sister ships

In fiction

Footnotes

References

Further reading