SS Francisco Morazan also named Arcadia was built in 1922, was an unfortunate ship that lies on the Southwest Coast of South Manitou Island, in Michigan. In November 1960 it started to sail for the Netherlands but its destiny took it to somewhere else. Let's get to know more about this unfortunate ship.

The history of The Franciso Morazan

The Francisco Morazan operated under the Deutsche Levant Linnie AG, was built for Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt AG, launched in June 1922. In 1934 the ship was purchased by Kohlen-Import, Konigsberg, the name Arcadia to Elbing. In 1935 a four-cylinder compound steam engine was installed in the ship.

In May 1945 when the ship sailed to river Elbe it was captured and named Empire Congress. Later in 1946 when the ship was allocated under the Norwegian government it was again renamed as Brunes. After going through many hands and being renamed many times, in 1947 the ship was renamed Skuld, in the very next year this ship was renamed Ringas, and when sold to Liberia in 1948 the name again changed to Los Mayas, the ship lastly purchased by C T Trapezountios and named after Francisco Morazan, a central American politician who was the President of Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 39.

Last journey of Francisco Morazan

The last voyage of Francisco Morazan started on 21st October 1960, from Miami through Montreal, And Toronto to Chicago.

After arriving in Chicago it again sailed to Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Hamburg, Germany respectively. On November 28 it started its last journey from Chicago, with a huge cargo included aluminum, canned chickens, bottle caps, casting, chemical, gilsonite, bald hair, lard, hides, scrap metal, machinery, phosphate, solder dross, tin plates, and toys including a multinational crew of13 members and a 24-year-old Captain name Eduardo Trivizas but the ship can't go far, as the pump of the ship were found damage. On the next night, the ship was stopped permanently on Manitou Island. And this is how the journey of Francisco Morazan ended. The owner and the crew members were never found and no one showed any interest to move the ship from the sea. It is now home to cormorants and gulls.

Recent situation of the ship

After it ended up in South Manitou Island, the locals were to use the ship's items fully. They take all of the things which the ship carried like all the canned chickens are consumed by islanders and all the toys they had taken from the ship and made the ship isolated. In 1968 Attorney General Frank Kelley filed a lawsuit and claimed that the rotten ship was hazardous for health as 25000 liters of fuel posed a risk of pollution. But later, due to the disappearance of three defendants, the lawsuit was dropped.  This is now a local attraction for visitors and the property of the State of Michigan.