The SS Bannockburn was a Canadian registered steel-hulled freighter that disappeared on Lake Superior in snowy weather on November 21, 1902.

The Bannockburn had technically sunk once before, on the morning of October 15, 1897: under Captain John Irving, laden with grain and destined for Kingston, Ontario from Chicago, Illinois, she had struck the wing wall of Lock No.

At 11:00 pm the nightwatch pilothouse crew of the passenger steamer Huronic, also upbound on the lake, reported seeing lights on a ship they passed in the storm which they believed were in the pattern of those of the Bannockburn.

Henderson, a manager of the Montreal Transportation Company, claimed he had received a wire from the Chicago office of the underwriter's association which was providing insurance coverage for the ship.

He told a local newspaper, The Fort Williams Times Journal, that the message read: "The steamer Bannockburn Has been located on the north shore of Lake Superior opposite Michipicoten Island.

"[4]: p.20  He later admitted he had no positive information as to her whereabouts but had based his hopeful assertion on news he had heard from the Germanic, another freighter, that she had been seen safely anchored there.

[4]: p.22  If the captain of the Bannockburn had been hoping to spot its warning light in the darkness of the storm on the 21st, the only evidence he would have had of his closing proximity would have been the shock of the hull striking the reef itself.

On Friday, December 12, the Captain of the Grand Marais Lifesaving Station found a cork life preserver from the Bannockburn washed up on the beach.

Such young crews, however, were common on the Great Lakes at the turn of the 20th century because they were inexpensive to hire and shipping firms had strong financial incentives and no legislative reason not to take advantage of this whenever they might.