WATCH: Lost ‘whaleback’ steamship discovered after 120 years

An unusual 89-metre steamship that sank in a storm 120 years ago has been found in Lake Superior, according to officials from a shipwreck museum.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) announced on Wednesday (12 October 2022) that a whaleback vessel named Barge 129 was found 35 miles off Vermilion Point, 200 metres below the surface.

Whalebacks were a type of cargo steamship with low, rounded hulls, decks, and deckhouses designed to reduce water and wind resistance, according to the Smithsonian. Between 1887 and 1898, 44 whalebacks were produced: 23 were barges, and 21 were steamships, including one passenger vessel.

The society made the discovery along with eight other wrecks in 2021 using sonar technology, but waited until the 120th anniversary of the sinking to make the announcement.

“I’ve looked for this ship for so long because it was a whaleback. I was pretty excited,” says GLSHS director of marine operations Darryl Ertel Jr.

Barge 129 sank on 13 October 1902. It was carrying a load of iron ore and had been under the tow of steamer Maunaloa when a storm struck, according to the historical society. The towline connecting the two ships snapped in heavy seas. Maunaloa turned around in an attempt to reconnect the towline, but the wind and waves slammed the two ships together, with Maunaloa’s port side anchor ripping into Barge 129’s starboard side.

As the barge began to sink, Captain Josiah Bailey and his crew struggled to launch their lifeboat but eventually made it onto Maunaloa as the whaleback sunk to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Last summer, the society sent a remotely operated underwater vehicle to assess the wreck site. However, they were disappointed to discover the ship was in poor condition.

“It’s totally destroyed on the bottom. It’s nowhere near intact. It’s at least four to five big pieces and thousands of little pieces. It’s just disintegrated,” Ertel says.

The Barge 129 is one of the last lost whaleback ships to be discovered. A spokesperson from the society told media that shipwreck hunters have been searching for Barge 129 for a long time.

“The whalebacks were pretty unusual ships,” says Shipwreck Society executive director Bruce Lynn. “When we had the ROV on it, you could clearly see the distinctive bow with a part of the towline still in place. That was an incredible moment.”

This is not the only incredible shipwreck footage to be released this year. Last month, Oceangate Expeditions released the first ever 8K resolution footage of the RMS Titanic.

The groundbreaking footage was filmed during the organisation’s 2022 expedition to the wreck, which sits 2.4 miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, some 400 nautical miles from Newfoundland, Canada.