The SS Cotopaxi was a tramp steamer

Tramp steamer

A ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule or published ports of call. As opposed to freight liners, tramp ships trade on the spot market with no fixed schedule or itinerary/ports-of-call...

 named after the Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of...

 stratovolcano. She vanished in December 1925, while en route from Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, USA, to Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, with all hands.

Description

Cotopaxi was a cargo ship of 2,351 GRT

Gross Register Tonnage

Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...

. She was built by the Great Lakes Engineering Works

Great Lakes Engineering Works

The Great Lakes Engineering Works was a shipbuilding company with a shipyard in River Rouge, Michigan that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships in the Great Lakes. During World War II, GLEW was...

, Ecorse, Michigan

Ecorse, Michigan

Ecorse is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan, named for the Ecorse River. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census.-History:...

, in 1918 for the Clinchfield Navigation Company.

Cotopaxi was 253 feet (77.1 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 44 feet (13.4 m). Her steam engine could propel her at 9.5 knots (18.6 km/h).

Final voyage

On 29 November 1925, Cotopaxi departed Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, for Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, under the command of Captain W. J. Meyer. She was carrying a cargo of coal and a crew of 32. On 1 December a distress call was made by radio from Cotopaxi, reporting that the ship was listing and had water in its hold. The ship was officially listed as overdue on 31 December.

Despite the last radio transmission indicating that the ship was about to sink, it has since been connected to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle

Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....

.

In fiction

In the 1980 Special Edition release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...

, the Cotopaxi is discovered, located in the Gobi Desert

Gobi Desert

The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...

.

Further reading

• "Lloyd's posts Cotopaxi As "Missing," New York Times, January 7, 1926.
• "Efforts To Locate Missing Ship Fail," Washington Post, December 6, 1925.
• "Lighthouse Keepers Seek Missing Ship," Washington Post, December 7, 1925.
• "53 On Missing Craft Are Reported Saved," Washington Post, December 13, 1925.