AH-WR-0004

SS Kamloops

Package Freighter (Canaller) · Canada · Lost 1927 · Isle Royale & Lake Superior

Canada Steamship Lines' freighter vanished with all twenty-two hands in a Lake Superior gale in December 1927. Her fate stayed a mystery for years.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

She was built narrow, to fit the Welland Canal locks, and she was three years old when she made her last trip. Leaving Port Colborne on 1 December 1927, late in a season that was already closing, she passed Sault Ste. Marie on the fourth and went into western Lake Superior. She was never seen again under way. Twenty-two people were aboard and none survived. For a long time no one knew where she had gone; wreckage came ashore near Isle Royale, and a message in a bottle attributed to one of her crew is part of the record that grew up around her. She is protected today within Isle Royale National Park, in cold water that has held her remarkably intact.

Timeline

1924
Built at Stockton-on-Tees for Canada Steamship Lines
1 December 1927
Departs Port Colborne on the season's final run
4 December 1927
Passes Sault Ste. Marie, upbound
7 December 1927
Foundered off Isle Royale
All twenty-two aboard were lost.
14 June 1984
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Vessel

Built: 1924
Registry: Canada Registry #147682
Builder: Furness Shipbuilding Company Ltd. (yard no. 68)
Yard: Stockton-on-Tees, England
Material: Steel
Length: 250 ft
Beam: 43 ft
Tonnage: 2,402 gross / 1,748 net tons
Propulsion: Triple-expansion steam
Owners: Canada Steamship Lines, Ltd., Montreal

Loss

Date: December 7, 1927
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Isle Royale, western Lake Superior
Water: Lake Superior
Voyage: Port Colborne, Ontario
Cargo: General package freight; the full manifest is not documented in the sources reviewed
Aboard: 22
Lives lost: 22
Master: William Brian

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Preserved by cold fresh water; lies in deep water off Kamloops Point
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 14 June 1984, within the Shipwrecks of Isle Royale National Park listing; the official record restricts the address

Position

Coordinates: 48.085° N 88.765° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Isle Royale, Michigan
Region: Isle Royale & Lake Superior

The National Register record is address-restricted; the park publishes dive coordinates. Treat the position as approximate.

From the Logbook

Built to fit a canal

Her narrow beam was dictated by the Welland Canal locks, which is what made her a canaller.

A message in a bottle

A bottled note attributed to a member of her crew was found years after the loss.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)

The exact depth is not stated in the sources reviewed, and the year the wreck was located is reported only in secondary sources.

National Park Service — SS Kamloops wreck event
Final voyage, date of loss, total loss of crew
Michigan Technological University — Isle Royale Shipwrecks: Kamloops
Captain, crew complement, survivors, cargo notes
SS Kamloops vessel record
Builder and yard number, tonnage, dimensions, registry number, National Register listing, message in a bottle