SS Francisco Morazan ( 1922 ) Francisco Morazan was a 1 , 442 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1922 as Arcadia by Deutsche Werft , Hamburg , for German owners . She was sold in 1924 and renamed Elbing . She was seized by the Allies in the River Elbe , Germany in May 1945 , passed to the United Kingdom ' s Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Congress . In 1946 , she was allocated to the Norwegian Government and renamed Brunes . " Brunes " was sold into merchant service in 1947 and renamed Skuld . In 1948 , another sale saw her renamed Ringas . In 1958 , she was sold to Liberia and renamed Los Mayas and then " Francisco Morazan " ( for Francisco Morazán ) the following year . She served until 29 November 1960 when she ran aground in Lake Michigan and was declared a total loss . Description . The ship was built in 1922 by Deutsche Werft AG , Hamburg , as yard number 19 . The ship was long , with a beam of . She had a depth of , and a draught of . She had a GRT of 1 , 141 and a NRT of 747 , with a DWT of 2 , 097 . As built , she was propelled by two steam turbines , double reduction geared , driving a single screw propeller . The turbines were built by Allgemeine Elektrizitäts - Gesellschaft , Berlin . History . " Arcadia " was built for Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt AG , Hamburg . She was launched In June 1922 . " Arcadia " was operated under the management of Deutsche Levant Linie AG . Her port of registry was Hamburg and the Code Letters RCSM were allocated . In 1934 , her Code Letters were changed to DHBK . In 1934 , " Arcadia " was sold to Kohlen - Import und Poseidon Schiffahrt , Königsberg and was renamed " Elbing " . A new four - cylinder compound steam engine was fitted in 1935 . The engine had two cylinders of and two cylinders of diameter by stroke . In 1940 , " Elbing " was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine for use as a coal ship in Operation Sea Lion . In March 1941 she was set on fire after being shelled by during Operation Claymore and beached at Solvær , Lofoten Islands , Norway . Subsequently repaired , she saw service in Norwegian waters in 1942 and was returned to Kohlen - Import und Poseidon Schiffahrt in 1943 . In 1945 , her port of registry was changed to Nordenham . She was damaged after being shelled by land - based artillery and beached on Schweinesand island . In May 1945 , " Elbing " was seized in the River Elbe . She was passed to the MoWT and renamed " Empire Congress " . Her port of registry was changed to London . The Code Letters GFSV and United Kingdom Official Number 180691 were allocated . She was placed under the management of Chine Trading Co Ltd , Cardiff . In 1946 , " Empire Congress " was allocated to the Norwegian government . She was renamed " Brunes " . She was operated under the management of Kr Jebsen . In 1947 , she was sold to R Mithassel , Norway and renamed " Skuld " . In 1948 , Mithassel was taken over by Birger Ekerholt and the ship was renamed " Ringas " . On 30 June 1952 , the Belgian Victory ship collided with the French Liberty ship north of Alderney , Channel Islands . " Ringas " rescued the 46 crew and three passengers from " Mahenge " , which sank . " Granville " was badly damaged and set on fire . She was towed into Cherbourg , France after the fire had been extinguished . In 1952 , she made her first voyage to the Great Lakes , delivering a cargo of china clay to Muskegon , Michigan . In 1953 , she delivered a cargo of pulpwood to Port Huron , Michigan . In 1958 , " Ringas " was sold to a Greek owner and renamed " Los Mayos " . She was operated placed under the Panamanian Flag and operated under the management of Moa Navigation SA . " Los Mayos " visited the Great Lakes in 1958 . She ran aground at Muskegon and was holed . In 1959 , she was sold to C T Trapezountios , Monrovia , Liberia , and was renamed " Francisco Morazan " . She was operated by the West Indies Transport Company of New York and Monrovia and chartered to Interamerican Marine Operators , New York . Loss . On 21 October 1960 , " Francisco Morazan " began what was to be her last voyage from Miami , Florida . She sailed to Montreal and Toronto , where she unloaded a cargo of phosphates . " Francisco Morazan " then sailed to Chicago , arriving there in mid - November . At Chicago , 1 , 118 tons , 10 cwt of mixed cargo was loaded , destined for Rotterdam , Netherlands and Hamburg , Germany . The cargo included aluminium , baled hair , bottle caps , canned chicken , castings , chemicals , Gilsonite , hides , lard , machinery , phosphate , scrap metal , solder dross , tinplate , and toy s . " Francisco Morazan " departed Chicago on 28 November . Fog on Lake Michigan slowed her progress and a problem with the feed pump for the boiler required the ship to be stopped while the pump was repaired . This meant " Francisco Morazan " was now in a race to leave the Great Lakes before the system closed to navigation on 3 December . During the night of 28 / 29 November , a snowstorm greatly reduced visibility and the ship was pushed off course . At 18 : 35 on 29 November , " Francisco Morazan " ran aground on the South Manitou Island shoal , passing over the wreck of on her way . She ended up just from the shore . The and were sent to the aid of " Francisco Morazan " . The captain ' s pregnant wife was taken off the ship and transferred to . She was then airlifted to Traverse City , Michigan . The captain and 12 crew remained on board " Francisco Morazan " , which was not in danger of sinking . On 30 November , two people were flown out to the ship by the insurers . It was decided that " Francisco Morazan " was not salvageable , although it was thought possible to save her cargo . Roan Salvage of Sturgeon Bay , Wisconsin , were contracted for the recovery of the cargo . The salvage tug " John Roan V " and barge " Maintland " were sent to the scene . During the next five days , " Francisco Morazan " was buffeted by a storm and began to break up . All on board the ship were rescued on 4 December . Roan Salvage abandoned their intention to salvage the cargo and their ships returned to port . Aftermath . In January 1961 , representatives from the insurers of the cargo awarded a contract to Lake Michigan Hardwood Co . for the salvage of the cargo from " Francisco Morazan " . Lake Michigan Hardwood Co engaged George Grosvenor of Leland , Michigan to assist in the operation . Grosvenor owned a small mail boat , " Smiling Thru " which was able to operate in shallow water . The plan was that the salvaged cargo would be transferred from " Smiling Thru " to the Lake Michigan Hardwood Co ' s " Glen Shore " for delivery to Leland , from where it would be taken by road to Chicago . Only about 5 tons of canned chicken and hides were recovered before salvage was abandoned due to storms . Over the years , the cargo was salvaged by the islanders for their own use . The Blue Star brand canned chicken was spoken highly of by the islanders . Amongst the cargo of toys were balsa wood model aircraft kits made by Monogram of Chicago , which proved popular with local boys . In August 1967 , a local boy drowned while exploring the wreck of " Francisco Morazan " . In August 1968 , Attorney General Frank Kelley filed a lawsuit to have the wreck of the ship removed . He claimed that the rotting cargo was a health hazard and the of fuel oil posed a pollution risk . The following day , " Francisco Morazan " was found to be on fire and the cargo was entirely consumed . Two of the three defendants in the lawsuit disappeared and the lawsuit was later dropped . The wreck of " Francisco Morazan " is now the property of the State of Michigan .