WRECK SUMMARY

  • Type: Steam Tug or small freighter (exact type unspecified)
  • Length: Not specified
  • Loss of Life: None
  • Location: Lake Michigan – at dock (exact city not specified)
  • GPS: Not available
  • Depth: N/A (burned at dock)

IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION

  • Vessel Name: Swift
  • Type: Presumed steam Tug or work vessel
  • Built: 1893
  • Flag/Registry: United States
  • Date of Loss: December 5, 1935
  • Final Resting Place: Burned to a Total Loss at dock on Lake Michigan
  • Casualties: None

VESSEL TYPE DESCRIPTION

Though not explicitly identified in the brief record, the Swift was likely a steam Tug or harbor vessel, common in the Great Lakes for industrial work, towing, and icebreaking. Built in 1893, she would have been a veteran of over four decades of service by the time of her destruction.

HISTORY

On December 5, 1935, while laid up for the winter, the Swift caught fire at her mooring on Lake Michigan. No crew were aboard, and no injuries or fatalities were reported. The vessel burned to a Total Loss at dock.

No further documentation exists regarding efforts to extinguish the fire or salvage the remains. The cause of the fire remains undocumented, though such incidents were common in lay-up season due to coal embers, galley stoves, or sabotage.

FINAL DISPOSITION

Burned to the waterline at dock. Not a known dive site; likely scrapped or dismantled afterward. Exact city or yard location not recorded.

REFERENCES & LINKS