SS Vienna (1873)
Steamship sunk after a collision in Lake Superior / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The SS Vienna was built in 1873 during the era when steamers were built with sail rigging. She had a 19 year career marked with maritime incidents including sinking when she was just three years old. She sank for her final time in fair weather in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior after she received a mortal blow when she was inexplicably rammed by the steamer Nipigon. Although there were no deaths when the Vienna sank for the last time, more than 100 years later her wreck claimed the lives of 4 scuba divers, the most of all the wrecks in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve that now protects her as part of an underwater museum. Her wreck was stripped of artifacts that resulted in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources seizing her artifacts in a raid on the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in 1992. Her artifacts are now on display in this museum as loan from the State of Michigan.
Vienna at dock. | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Vienna |
Owner | Built for Cleveland Transportation Company. Owned by Orient Transportation Company at time of loss |
Port of registry | Cleveland, Ohio |
Builder | Quale & Martin of Cleveland, Ohio |
Completed | 1873 |
Fate | Sank in Whitefish Bay 17 September 1892 after she was rammed by the Nipigon |
Notes | United States Registry # 25875 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Propeller, wooden steamer |
Tonnage | 1005.79 Gross Register Tonnage 829.42 Net Register Tonnage |
Length | 191.33 ft (58.32 m) |
Beam | 33.66 ft (10.26 m) |
Depth | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
Propulsion | Propeller |
Notes | Vienna was downbound with her schooner barge tow, the Matte C. Bell, when she sank. There were no deaths. |