SS William Clay Ford was a bulk freighter built for hauling material on the Great Lakes.

Her keel was laid in 1952 at River Rouge, Michigan by the Great Lakes Engineering Works, and she was launched in 1953.

The Anderson and Ford had made it to safety at Whitefish Bay, but went back into the storm at the request of the Coast Guard to look for survivors of the Fitzgerald.

Because of the bravery and valor demonstrated that night by Captain Don Erickson and his crew, they were presented with many accolades including a plaque bestowed upon them by the Great Lakes Maritime Institute recognizing their role in the search for Edmund Fitzgerald.

It reads: On the night of November 10–11, 1975, these men voluntarily left a safe harbor to face the dangers of gale force winds and vicious seas, in the blackness of a storm which had already claimed as a victim the steamer Edmund Fitzgerald, to search for possible survivors of that disaster, exemplifying the finest traditions of the maritime profession.In 1979 the hull of William Clay Ford was lengthened 120 feet.