Researchers have Discovered Mostly Intact Steamship Wreck on the Great Lakes
Divers found most of the John V. Moran steamer is still intact, 400 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan.
Researchers have found a century-old, nearly perfectly preserved shipwreck in Lake Michigan. Divers recently descended to about 400 feet under the lake’s surface to confirm the steamer was the sunken John V. Moran ship. A sonar device detected it earlier this year.
Michigan Shipwreck Research Association Director Valerie van Heest says, despite sinking in the middle of winter, all 25 people on board the vessel survived.
“Imagine your ship is trapped in the ice, it’s after midnight, all you can see is the light from another ship several miles distant, and the crew had to climb down the side of their ship, walk across the frozen lake, get the attention of the other ship, and then they were taken aboard.”
-Valerie van Heest, Michigan Shipwreck Research Association
Van Heest says it’s the most intact steamship wreck discovered so far in the Great Lakes. She says her team has plans to further explore the interior of the ship.
