The Great Lakes have always been a vital part of commerce and recreation, but for those working their waters, the lakes have also been challenging, if not treacherous. Experts estimate that more than ten thousand vessels litter the floors of these five lakes, all with unique, tragic stories.

Southport Video, producer of fourteen shipwreck documentaries over the past decade, now releases a one hour program detailing the lakes' many dangers and the demise of some of its more storied victims. Included are tales of raging storms, fierce fires, pea soup fog, and nasty collisions, all resulting in loss of ships and human lives. All new interviews shot in broadcast quality exclusively for this program by several Great Lakes historians, enhanced by rare photos, newspaper headlines and clippings, beautiful paintings, and stunning underwater footage, tell the stories of:

• The Edmund Fitzgerald, the 1975 disaster that became perhaps the best known Great Lakes shipwreck after its sinking in Lake Superior

• The Daniel J. Morrell, a massive ore carrier that broke apart, this one on Lake Huron in 1966

• The Carl D. Bradley, which also split in two and sank in Lake Michigan in the teeth of a wicked 1958 storm

• The Noronic, a beautiful passenger ship which caught fire and burned while docked in Lake Ontario, to a huge loss of life in 1949

• The G.P. Griffith, a terrible tragedy involving a fire on Lake Erie in 1850, which is still one of the worst disasters in Great Lakes history.

Other ships are also covered in this video, including the 1913 storm, making Great Lakes Shipwreck Disasters the most comprehensive video of its kind.