SS Marine Electric SS " Marine Electric " , a 605 - foot bulk carrier , sank on 12 February 1983 , about 30 miles off the coast of Virginia , in 130 feet of water . Thirty - one of the 34 crewmembers were killed ; the three survivors endured 90 minutes drifting in the frigid waters of the Atlantic . The wreck resulted in some of the most important maritime reforms in the second half of the 20th century . The tragedy tightened inspection standards , resulted in mandatory survival suits for winter North Atlantic runs , and helped create the now famous Coast Guard rescue swimmer program . Ship history . The ship was built by the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Chester , Pennsylvania for the U . S . Maritime Commission ( contract No . 1770 ) as a Type T2 - SE - A1 tanker , hull number 437 . She was laid down on 10 January 1944 , launched on 2 May , and delivered on 23 May . In May 1947 , she was sold to the Gulf Oil Corporation and renamed " Gulfmills " . In May 1961 , she was purchased by Marine Transport Lines ( MTL ) , and renamed " Marine Electric " . The ship was modified by the addition of a new midsection for cargo transport , built at the Bremer Vulkan yard in Bremen , Germany , which was then towed to the Bethlehem Steel Co . yard in East Boston . This extended the ship ' s length overall from to , and her tonnage from 10 , 448 to . The work was completed in November 1962 . However , the " Marine Electric " was showing its age , exhibiting corrosion and damage to the hull and other structural components . Final voyage . The " Marine Electric " put to sea for her final voyage on 10 February 1983 , sailing from Norfolk , Virginia to Somerset , Massachusetts with a cargo of 24 , 800 tons of granulated coal . The ship sailed through a fierce ( and ultimately record - breaking ) storm that was gathering . The " Marine Electric " neared the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at about 2 : 00 a . m . on Thursday , 10 February . She battled 25 - foot ( 7 . 6 - m ) waves and winds gusting to more than , fighting the storm to reach port with her cargo . The following day , she was contacted by the United States Coast Guard to turn back to assist a fishing vessel , the " Theodora " , that was taking on water . The " Theodora " eventually recovered and proceeded on its westerly course back to Virginia ; the " Marine Electric " turned north to resume its original route . During the course of the investigation into the ship ’ s sinking , representatives of MTL theorized that the ship ran aground during her maneuvering to help the " Theodora " , fatally damaging the hull . They contended that it was this grounding that caused the " Marine Electric " to sink five hours later . But Coast Guard investigations , and independent examinations of the wreck , told a different story : the " Marine Electric " left port in an un - seaworthy condition , with gaping holes in its deck plating and hatch covers . The hatch covers , in particular , posed a problem , since without them the cargo hold could fill with water in the storm and drag the ship under . And it was there that the investigation took a second , dramatic turn . Investigators discovered that much of the paperwork supporting MTL ' s declarations that the " Marine Electric " was seaworthy was faked . Inspection records showed inspections of the hatch covers during periods where they ' d in fact been removed from the ship for maintenance ; inspections were recorded during periods of time when the ship wasn ' t even in port . A representative of the hatch covers ' manufacturer warned MTL in 1982 that their condition posed a threat to the ship ’ s seaworthiness . But inspectors never tested them . And yet , the " Marine Electric " was repeatedly certified as seaworthy . Part of the problem was that the Coast Guard delegated some of its inspection authority to the American Bureau of Shipping . The ABS is a private , non - profit agency that developed rules , standards and guidelines for ship ' s hulls . In the wake of the " Marine Electric " tragedy , questions were raised about how successfully the ABS was exercising the inspection authority delegated to it , as well as about whether the Coast Guard even had the authority to delegate that role . Also there was a conflict of interest in that the inspection fees paid to the ABS were paid by the ship owners . Aftermath . In the wake of the " Marine Electric " sinking , " The Philadelphia Inquirer " assigned two reporters , Tim Dwyer and Robert Frump , to look into old ship catastrophes . In the series , the writers concluded that government programs designed to strengthen the merchant marine had actually kept unsafe ships afloat . Frump later wrote a book , " Until the Sea Shall Free Them " , about the sinking . In the wake of the Marine Board report , and the newspaper ' s investigation , the Coast Guard dramatically changed its inspection and oversight procedures . The Coast Guard report noted that the ABS , in particular , " cannot be considered impartial " , and described its failure to notice the critical problems with the ship as negligent . At the same time , the report noted that " the inexperience of the inspectors who went aboard the " Marine Electric " , and their failure to recognize the safety hazards . . . raises doubt about the capabilities of the Coast Guard inspectors to enforce the laws and regulations in a satisfactory manner . " While the Coast Guard commandant did not accept all of the recommendations of the Marine Board report , inspections tightened and more than 70 old World War II relics still functioning 40 years after the war were sent to scrap yards . In 2003 , Coast Guard Captain Dominic Calicchio was posthumously awarded The Plimsoll Award by " Professional Mariner " magazine in part because of his role as a member of the Marine Board of Investigation . Additionally , the Coast Guard required that survival suits be required on all winter North Atlantic runs . Later , as a direct result of the casualties on the " Marine Electric " , Congress pushed for and the Coast Guard eventually established the now famous Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program .