The SS Etruria was a steel-hulled lake freighter built in 1902 by the West Bay City Shipbuilding Company in Michigan for the Hawgood Transit Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She measured an overall length of 434 feet (132 meters), with a length between perpendiculars of 414 feet (126 meters). Her beam was 50 feet (15 meters), and her original depth was listed as 24 feet (7.3 meters), later corrected to 28 feet (8.5 meters). The vessel had a gross register tonnage of approximately 4,653 tons and a net register tonnage of 3,415 tons, reflecting her size and cargo capacity. She was powered by a 1,500-horsepower triple expansion steam engine fueled by two Scotch marine boilers, enabling her to carry a cargo of up to 7,000 tons. Etruria was the first of four sister ships, including the Bransford, J.M. Jenks, and H.B. Hawgood, all built for the same company. Launched on February 8, 1902, she was first enrolled in Port Huron, Michigan, on April 12, 1905, before being re-enrolled in Cleveland. Her service was primarily on the Great Lakes, carrying cargo such as coal. Her service was tragically brief. On June 18, 1905, while sailing upbound on Lake Huron with a cargo of coal from Toledo to Superior, Wisconsin, she was rammed on her starboard side by the larger steel freighter Amasa Stone near Presque Isle Light. The collision caused her to list and sink within five minutes at approximately 10 miles off Presque Isle. The entire crew was rescued by the steamer Maritana. At the time, Etruria was the largest freighter ever to sink on the Great Lakes, and her loss was valued at nearly $282,000. Her wreck was discovered in 2011 in 310 feet of water, lying upside down with her hull largely exposed, offering significant archaeological and historical interest. The site is part of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The discovery shed light on early 20th-century Great Lakes shipping history, and her wreck was nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, though the nomination was ultimately denied.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.