After sitting idle for years, the Arthur M. Anderson - one of the most famous freighters on the Great Lakes - will be prepped for a return to service, its owners said this week.

The Anderson is a favorite among ship enthusiasts, and earned its place in Great Lakes lore when its captain and crew stayed in contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald during a violent Lake Superior storm in 1975 that sent the latter freighter to its doom. It was the last ship to have radio contact with the Fitzgerald’s captain. The Anderson’s crew was also the first to turn around and lead the search for the Fitzgerald’s crew after it sank. No survivors were found.

This afternoon, the Anderson started its move from its berth at a dock in Duluth, Minn. A video below shared by Paul Scinocca shows the move. The freighter is headed to the Fraser Shipyards for drydocking and work to meet the requirements of the five-year survey certification, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

She moving ; Posted by Paul Scinocca on Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Mitch Koslow, vice president of Anderson owner Key Lakes Inc., told the news site that an improved shipping economy means more cargo needs to be moved, prompting the freighter’s return to service. The freighter has been docked since the end of the 2016 shipping season.

“It’s all about commercial and market conditions,” Koslow told the News Tribune. “Things have improved to the point where we can use (the Anderson) to meet the needs of our customers.”

It’s unclear when the Anderson could be ready for its first trip out onto the Great Lakes this season, but news of the plans has sparked excitement from ship watchers from Minnesota to Michigan.

Launched in 1952, the 767-foot vessel is considered a “classic laker." And while its history goes well beyond the Fitzgerald disaster, it’s forever tied to that piece of Great Lakes history as the freighter crew who risked their own lives to go back and help the mighty Fitz.

The Anderson had been the first to raise the alarm when the Fitzgerald vanished from radar - and from the crew’s sight - on Nov. 10, 1975.

Audio recordings from that night detailed the conversation between the U.S. Coast Guard at the Sault Ste. Marie station talking to Capt. Jesse Cooper from the nearby Arthur M. Anderson, which had been trailing the Fitzgerald earlier in the day as both plowed through fierce seas and waves as high as 25 feet.

The following account is from the radio transmissions between crew on the Anderson and the Edmund Fitzgerald that night, as well as the Anderson captain’s later communication with the Coast Guard. This last communication is shared courtesy of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Point in Paradise, Mi.

Last radio communication between the Arthur M Anderson and the Edmund Fitzgerald was at 7:10pm ...

“Fitzgerald, this is the Anderson. Have you checked down?”

“Yes, we have.”

“Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you.”

“Well,” answered (Fitzgerald’s) Captain McSorley, “Am I going to clear?”

“Yes, he is going to pass to the west of you.”

“Well, fine.”

“By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problems?” asked Clark (on the Anderson).

“We are holding our own.”

“Okay, fine, I’ll be talking to you later.” Clark signed off.

The radar signal, or “pip” of the Fitzgerald kept getting obscured by sea return. And around 7:15 pm, the pip was lost again, but this time, did not reappear. Clark called the Fitzgerald again at about 7:22 pm. There was no answer.

Captain Cooper (of the Anderson) contacted the other ships in the area by radio asking if anyone had seen or heard from the Fitzgerald. The weather had cleared dramatically. His written report states:

“At this time I became very concerned about the Fitzgerald – couldn’t see his lights when we should have. I then called the William Clay Ford to ask him if my phone was putting out a good signal and also if perhaps the Fitzgerald had rounded the point and was in shelter, after a negative report I called the Soo Coast Guard because I was sure something had happened to the Fitzgerald. The Coast Guard were at this time trying to locate a 16-foot boat that was overdue.”

With mounting apprehension, Captain Cooper called the Coast Guard once again, about 8:00 pm, and firmly expressed his concern for the welfare of the Fitzgerald. The Coast Guard then initiated its search for the missing ship. By that time the Anderson had reached the safety of Whitefish Bay to the relief of all aboard. But the Coast Guard called Captain Cooper back at 9:00 pm:

“Anderson, this is Group Soo. What is your present position?”

“We’re down here, about two miles off Parisienne Island right now…the wind is northwest forty to forty-five miles here in the bay.”

“Is it calming down at all, do you think?”

“In the bay it is, but I heard a couple of the salties talking up there, and they wish they hadn’t gone out.”

“Do you think there is any possibility and you could…ah…come about and go back there and do any searching?”

“Ah…God, I don’t know…ah…that…that sea out there is tremendously large. Ah…if you want me to, I can, but I’m not going to be making any time; I’ll be lucky to make two or three miles an hour going back out that way.”

“Well, you’ll have to make a decision as to whether you will be hazarding your vessel or not, but you’re probably one of the only vessels right now that can get to the scene. We’re going to try to contact those saltwater vessels and see if they can’t possibly come about and possibly come back also…things look pretty bad right now; it looks like she may have split apart at the seams like the Morrell did a few years back.”

“Well, that’s what I been thinking. But we were talking to him about seven and he said that everything was going fine. He said that he was going along like an old shoe; no problems at all.”

“Well, again, do you think you could come about and go back and have a look in the area?”

“Well, I’ll go back and take a look, but God, I’m afraid I’m going to take a hell of a beating out there… I’ll turn around and give ‘er a whirl, but God, I don’t know. I’ll give it a try.”

“That would be good.”

“Do you realize what the conditions are out there?”

No reply from the Coast Guard. Captain Cooper tries again.

“Affirmative. From what your reports are I can appreciate the conditions. Again, though, I have to leave that decision up to you as to whether it would be hazarding your vessel or not. If you think you can safely go back up to the area, I would request that you do so. But I have to leave the decision up to you.”

“I’ll give it a try, but that’s all I can do.”