Francisco Morazan was a 1,442 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1922 as Arcadia by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, for German owners.

She was seized by the Allies in the River Elbe, Germany in May 1945, passed to the United Kingdom's Ministry of War Transport and renamed Empire Congress.

She served until 29 November 1960 when she ran aground in Lake Michigan and was declared a total loss.

In March 1941 she was set on fire after being shelled by HMS Tartar during Operation Claymore and beached at Solvær, Lofoten Islands, Norway.

Subsequently repaired, she saw service in Norwegian waters in 1942 and was returned to Kohlen-Import und Poseidon Schiffahrt in 1943.

[11] In 1952, Ringås made her first voyage to the Great Lakes, delivering a cargo of china clay to Muskegon, Michigan.

[10] At Chicago, 1,118 tons, 10 cwt of mixed cargo was loaded, destined for Rotterdam, Netherlands and Hamburg, Germany.

The cargo included aluminium, baled hair, bottle caps, canned chicken, castings, chemicals, Gilsonite, hides, lard, machinery, phosphate, scrap metal, solder dross, tinplate, and toys.

This meant Francisco Morazan was now in a race to leave the Great Lakes before the system closed to navigation on 3 December.

At 18:35 on 29 November,[9] Francisco Morazan ran aground on the South Manitou Island shoal,[10] passing over the wreck of SS Walter L. Frost on her way.

Before she arrived early on 1 December, the weather moderated and a ship's boat from Mackinaw was able to take off the two-months-pregnant wife of the Morazan's captain.

The salvage tug John Roan V and its companion barge Maintland also joined the rescuers on 1 December.

The captain, twelve crewmen and the two owner's representatives remained on board Morazan until deteriorating weather started to break up the ship.

The plan was that the salvaged cargo would be transferred from Smiling Thru to the Lake Michigan Hardwood Co's Glen Shore for delivery to Leland, from where it would be taken by road to Chicago.

Amongst the cargo of toys were balsa wood model aircraft kits made by Monogram of Chicago, which proved popular with local boys.

In August 1968, Attorney General Frank Kelley filed a lawsuit to have the wreck of the ship removed.

He claimed that the rotting cargo was a health hazard and the 6,500 US gallons (25,000 L) of fuel oil posed a pollution risk.