Forty years ago, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald became the deadliest shipwreck — and greatest mystery — on the Great Lakes. Scot Forge explores the tragedy and the lessons learned about how metals and their applications interact with the harsh, sometimes violent conditions of the open waters. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald underway. Photo by Winston Brown. Forty years ago, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald , the “Pride of the American Flag,” left Superior, Wisconsin at 2:15 p.m. en route to a steel mill on Zug Island near Detroit, Michigan. With a cargo of 26,116 long tons of taconite ore pellets, the ship was the largest vessel of its kind to sail the Great Lakes. Its captain was a 40-year veteran. Twelve hours later, during a severe winter storm with winds of 52 knots and rogue waves up to 35 feet high, the “Mighty Fitz” sank at approximately 7:10 p.m. No distress signal was ever received. All 29 of her crew were lost. Forty years later, the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the deadliest shipwreck — and greatest mystery — on the Great Lakes. Speculations and Lessons Learned Tragedies like the sinking of the Fitzgerald teach us a great deal about how metals and their applications interact with the harsh, sometimes violent conditions of the open sea. During WW2, U.S. shipbuilders struggled to understand why the hulls of their mighty Liberty vessels were literally cracking — some splitting in half. The answers were found in both metallurgy and manufacturing. Metallurgists learned that the hull materials in use at the time could not withstand the stresses encountered at sea in very cold climates. Though these waters had been in active use for decades, the change from riveting to welding revealed a fundamental weakness in the hull materials—a transition from tough to brittle at low temperatures. This flaw had previously been countered by the riveted assembly method. When small cracks formed, they were arrested by the rivet holes and did not propagate to any significant degree. When welding replaced riveting, however, no features were available to prevent the crack from spreading. There were nearly 1,500 occurrences, 12 of which resulted in ships breaking completely in half. The realization that metal properties can be temperature-dependent resulted in both new test methods and new alloys to reduce the risk mariners face in cold climate shipping. For the SS Edmund Fitzgerald , the exact cause of the wreck is still undetermined to this day. However, based on clues resting at the bottom of Lake Superior, theories are abundant. One theory speculates that a couple of the Fitzgerald 's giant metal cargo hatches near the center of the vessel had weakened and caved inward from the force of the violent waves, allowing massive amounts of water to swamp the cargo hold, overwhelming its pumps and sinking the ship in a matter of minutes. Although it is was never substantiated, this hatch theory — like the Liberty failures — forced shipbuilders to ask, “How do we make vessels stronger?” One of the potential means of improving a ship’s strength is to incorporate more forged components. Forging, by nature, is stronger and more durable than casting or welding. Thanks to a variety of engineered materials, expanded facilities and new technologies, marine designers now have more options for forged parts than ever before. We asked Pat Nowak, Process Metallurgist for Scot Forge, what the best applications of forging are in marine environments: “For making new ships or repairing existing ones, manufacturers can forge everything from ABS shafts/bars to hollow tubing, piston rings, gears, support bearings and a wide array of custom components.” Same Waters. Better Metals. “Today we work with stronger and lighter metals that have dramatically changed how we approach maritime applications,” Nowak explains. “We have access to new cutting-edge alloys like duplex and super duplex stainless steels, bronze, nickel and aluminum alloys that can better handle corrosive and extreme environments. In fact, many of these forging materials are so strong and corrosion-resistant that we do not even need to paint them to protect them from the elements.” New Super Duplex Alloys A super duplex alloy is the most corrosion-resistant, as measured by Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number (PREN). Super duplex materials have a PREN greater than 40. Bronze Alloys Bronze alloys are extremely popular today for their looks, strength and resistance to corrosion. While they have always been used to make bells, mirrors, weapons and sculptures, they are more prevalent today because the way they are engineered and processed, making them a more attractive option for design engineers. High Yield Strength Materials Today, we also have access to high yield strength (HY) materials that are easier to weld yet ideal for applications that require toughness. They are often used on naval vessels and in other military applications. These alloys come in three grades: HY-80, HY-100 and HY-130, and are designed for low temperatures. Stronger Metals. Smarter Tools. Not only has the quality of engineered metals evolved over the past 40 years, but so have the tools to forge them. Today, world-class manufactures like Scot Forge use 3D computer modeling and forging simulation software to expanded the possibilities what parts can be forged. As a result, today’s marine engineers are able to design vessels that are bigger, lighter, faster, more fuel-efficient and — most important of all — safer for the crews who sail them. Forging a quicker solution to expedite ship repairs and avoid costly dry dock time

Working in the marine and offshore industries or supplying products for marine applications often requires ABS certification. Learn more about the ABS requirement flow down through the supply chain of a component and how to minimize you risks and costs. Working in the marine and offshore industries or supplying products for marine applications often requires ABS certification. Understanding where in the manufacturing or construction process the certification is required and working with your suppliers can help you minimize costs and production delays while ensuring that your products obtain the certifications needed. WHAT IS ABS? The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) was chartered in 1862 to certify ship captains. Since then, it has been involved in developing and setting safety and quality standards for ships and offshore structures. ABS standards are recognized globally and are used to ensure that the materials, parts and components, and construction of vessels and marine equipment meet established safety standards. ABS works with the marine industry worldwide as they develop new technologies for constructing marine vessels and offshore structures, revising and updating its certifications to meet the changing industry needs. The Rules and Grades established by ABS for certification are written to provide standards for the design, construction, and periodic survey of marine vessels and offshore structures to promote their safe design and assembly. Materials, parts, and components used in the manufacture of marine vessels and structures must meet the set standards for the vessel or structure in which they will be used. Certifications are specified by the Rules, such as Steel Vessel Rules part 2-3-7/1, or MODU (mobile offshore drilling unit) Rules, or the material grade, such as Grade 2, or Grade 4C. The end use of the component determines the inspections and certifications required, as well as any requirements for inspections during manufacturing: Certain components used in the construction of the vessel or structure must be certified Some of those components must be certified (inspected) as they are being constructed or fabricated to verify that the construction meets ABS standards Some materials must be certified during manufacturing; this will minimize the need for additional certification during construction or fabrication Information about ABS certifications can be found at www.eagle.org . MINIMIZING RISKS AND COSTS ABS certification costs time and money. Certification inspectors are on-site at your facility during manufacturing, construction, or fabrication to verify that your processes meet the standards - and you pay for the time they are on-site. So, it’s important that you understand the Rule requirements for your product to identify the stages in your supply chain where inspection and certification should occur. By doing so, you’ll save your company time and money, and minimize the risk of your products not being certified. Some simple steps can provide you with cost and time savings. Know what the requirements are for your product. Answering a few questions will help: Which ABS Rules or ABS Grade applies to your product? What is the application that your component will be used for? For example, are you manufacturing a component for a jacking system (or the complete system), torque transmitting parts, or a structural component? The application helps determine the section of the Rules or Type Approval Tier that is appropriate for your part. What is the end use of the part? The end use of the part is also used to determine which ABS Rule, Grade or Type Approval Tier is required. For example, if your part is a component in a tailshaft, the process required may be different than if it is being used in rudder stock. Do you have an ABS-approved drawing or Design Approval Document? These drawings or documents show that ABS has approved the design as well as provide an approval number for reference. Partner with your suppliers. It is critical to flow-down your ABS requirements to your suppliers...and your entire supply chain. This is the most important aspect to ensure your component will be accurately certified . It may be required for your suppliers to have inspection performed during the manufacturing process. Clear requirements throughout the supply chain ensure that your component is manufactured under the certification requirements without delays or added costs. Often, by the time the purchase order is submitted to raw material vendors, the ABS Rule requirements are missing. This is caused because the requirements were not flown-down the supply chain. An ideal PO includes information on the all the ABS Rules and Grades or the Design Approval Document from ABS. Your supplier should work with you to ensure that the inspections and certifications are handled at the most effective point in the manufacturing process, eliminating time-consuming errors and reducing inspection costs. It is helpful to have a supplier that is approved by ABS. Using certified suppliers can further minimize the cost and lead-time of inspections (ex: if you need a forging where final heat treatment will take place at another level within the supply chain, and the forging facility is an ABS- Approved supplier, then inspection may not be required at the forge level). With some planning, answering a few questions, and partnering with your suppliers, you can improve the efficiency of your production and reduce the costs of certifying your products for use in the marine industry. THE SCOT FORGE ADVANTAGE At Scot Forge, we are uniquely qualified to provide you with ABS-certified products and materials. We are one of the few U.S. companies that have been audited by the American Bureau of Shipping and APPROVED as a worldwide ABS forging supplier. Our technically trained sales staff has extensive experience manufacturing ABS-certified products and will partner with you to ensure that your part has all the requirements to ensure certification while minimizing time and costs. We are a custom manufacturer of open die forgings and seamless rolled rings, with the capability to forge parts up to 100,000 lbs. and roll rings up to 252” in diameter. From gear box repair to broken rudder stock, contact us at today see how we can help you with your marine part and get you out of dry dock and back in commission. Click here to download the Working with ABS Certifications PDF. Joe's Story: Forging a quicker solution to expedite ship repairs and avoid costly dry dock time

2018 is a big year for Scot Forge: we are celebrating our 125th birthday and 40th anniversary as an employee-owned company. Find out what these milestones mean to us! 125 years of Scot Forge shows more than just our longevity; it’s a testimony to our people who make Scot Forge successful. Our company was built on hard work, unselfish leadership, and a few other core values which have become ingrained in each and every employee-owner. These values have been there from the very beginning, influencing the building blocks of our people, investments and innovation. Our employee owners strive to build a reputation of integrity through honesty, which serves as a solid foundation for Scot Forge. Pete (Spike) Georgeson, the ESOP founder and past owner of Scot Forge, set the company goal of honesty: operate our business with integrity to customers, employees, and vendors, and maintain the highest standards of quality available in our industry. 40 years ago, Scot Forge became 100% employee-owned through an employee stock-ownership program, making our work personal. Scot Forge values our customers’ experience, which is why our employee-owners strive to make doing business with Scot Forge as simple as possible throughout all parts of our business, from pre-to post-purchase. Internally, Scot Forge continually looks for ways to protect the interests of our employee-owners through efforts that are intended to translate into healthy retirement funds. We are passionate about putting people first so we can create the best possible experience for our customers and employees alike.