by Raymond Ramsay, M.Sc. For Whom the Bells Toll: The Unexplained Losses of S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, M.V. Derbyshire, and Other Vessels of the Bulk-Cargo Silent Service is a revealing and detailed study of the factors that may have contributed to tragic sinkings that occurred without evidence of a distress signal nor the presence of survivors or witnesses. While focusing on the November 1975 loss of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in the waters of Lake Superior, Raymond Ramsay also provides a descriptive background of inland marine commerce, drawing on his extensive personal and professional experience to develop the reader’s understanding of the complex forces that have shaped the industry. He further considers similar occurrences and damages sustained on vessels of related design, drawing together a vast field of research to argue for the enhancement of safety and design standards. For Whom the Bells Toll: The Unexplained Losses of S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, M.V. Derbyshire, and Other Vessels of the Bulk-Cargo Silent Service conveys the author’s deep respect and concern for the mariners who serve in treacherous conditions around the world, and his careful consideration of the circumstances surrounding the losses serves as a just and well-reasoned call for reform. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Raymond Ramsay was educated and trained in England and now resides in Maryland, where he lives with his wife, Virginia, and two children. After a long career in merchant and naval vessel engineering and logistics management in both the private and government sectors, Mr. Ramsay retired from the Department of Defense (U.S. Navy) as the director of the Office of Maritime Affairs and Shipbuilding Technology. (2006, paperback, 222 pages) |
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| First outlining the complex forces that have shaped the shipbuilding industry, Ramsay moves on to consider similar incidents and damages to ships of comparable design. As to both cases in point, he concludes, the ships “were built beyond the limits of the existing rules.” Instead, parameters for other kinds of ships were the bases for their designs. -- Gazette Entertainment, Ellyn Wexler, September 13, 2006 |
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