Shipwreck hunters stunned by discovery at bottom of Lake Superior

Plenty of mystery surrounds the wreck

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society revealed their stunning discovery on Monday, sharing pictures of the wreck on social media.

The 244ft (74-metre) bulk carrier Arlington dates back to 1940 and was found around 35 miles north of Michigan's Keweenaw peninsula, at a depth of roughly 650ft (200 metres).

The ship had left Port Arthur, Ontario, on April 30,1940, fully loaded with wheat under the command of Captain Frederick “Tatey Bug” Burke, a veteran of the Great Lakes.

It's intended destination was Owen Sound, Ontario, but as it crossed Lake Superior the ship ran into dense fog and a storm.

As the Arlington started to take on water, first mate Junis Macksey ordered a course to hug the Canadian North Shore, which would have provided some cover from wind and waves, but Captain Burke countermanded the order.

The society explained that Burke ordered the ship back on course across the 350-mile-long lake, which holds about 10 per cent of the all the surface fresh water in the world.

On May 1, 1940, the Arlington started to sink and the crew abandoned ship "out of fear for their lives, and without orders from Captain Burke."

Another freighter, the Collingwood, had been crossing the lake with the Arlington, and the crew managed to make it to the larger vessel.

Burke, however, went down with the ship.

According to reports, he was last seen near its pilothouse, waving at the Collingwood, just minutes before his ship vanished into the lake.

The society said it will forever remain a mystery why Burke behaved the way he did.

Researcher Dan Fountain said: “It’s exciting to solve just one more of Lake Superior’s many mysteries, finding Arlington so far out in the lake. I hope this final chapter in her story can provide some measure of closure to the family of Captain Burke.”

It was thanks to Fountain's remote sensing in Lake Superior that the wreck was located. The Michigan local had been searching for shipwrecks in the lake for about a decade, according to Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.

Fountain had approached the group with a "potential target", and the group eventually discovered the Arlington last year, Lynn said.

He said in a statement: “These targets don’t always amount to anything ... but this time it absolutely was a shipwreck. A wreck with an interesting, and perhaps mysterious story.

“Had Dan not reached out to us, we might never have located the Arlington.”

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