SS Cotopaxi
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Cotopaxi |
| Owner: | Clinchfield Navigation Company |
| Port of registry: |
 United States |
| Builder: | Great Lakes Engineering Works |
| Launched: | 1918 |
| Out of service: | On or after 1 December 1925 |
| Fate: | Reported missing 1 December 1925 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 2,351 GRT |
| Length: | 253 ft (77 m) |
| Beam: | 44 ft (13 m) |
| Installed power: | Steam engine |
| Speed: | 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h) |
| Crew: | 32 |
The SS Cotopaxi was a tramp steamer named after the Cotopaxi stratovolcano. She vanished in December 1925, while en route from Charleston, South Carolina, USA, to Havana, Cuba, with all hands.
Description
The Cotopaxi is a cargo ship of 2,351 GRT. She was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, Ecorse, Michigan,[1] in 1918 for the Clinchfield Navigation Company.[2][3]
The Cotopaxi was 253 feet (77 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 44 feet (13 m). Her steam engine could propel her at 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h).[3]
Final voyage
On 29 November 1925, the Cotopaxi departed Charleston, South Carolina, for Havana, Cuba,[4] under Captain W. J. Meyer.[5] She was carrying a cargo of coal and a crew of 32.[5] On 1 December, the Cotopaxi radioed a distress call,[4] reporting that the ship was listing and taking on water.[2] The ship was officially listed as overdue on 31 December.[4]
Despite the last radio transmission indicating that the ship was about to sink, she has since been connected to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle.[6]
In fiction
In the 1980 Directors Cut of the November 16, 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Cotopaxi is discovered,[7] located in the Gobi Desert, presumably set there by extraterrestrial forces.[6] In a documentary on the making of the film, it is stated that the model they used looked nothing like the actual vessel.
References
- ↑ The Great Lakes Engineering Works. The Shipyard and its Vessels. Detroit: Marine Historical Society of Detroit. p. 311.
- 1 2 "Ships and the Sea". Evening Post (27 March 1926). p. 27.
- 1 2 "Cotopaxi". Ellis Island. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
- 1 2 3 "Mails and Shipping" The Times (London). Thursday, 31 December 1925. (44157), col D, p. 18.
- 1 2 "Cotopaxi Still Lost; Lighthouse Men Watch; No Word Since Tuesday". The Sunday News (6 December 1925). p. 1.
- 1 2 Ray Morton (1 November 2007). Close encounters of the third kind: the making of Steven Spielberg's classic film. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 311. ISBN 978-1-55783-710-3. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ↑ "Close Encounters: 30th Anniversary Ultimate Edition DVD (1977)". BBC. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
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.
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