Lost in collisions

Fog, darkness and crowded channels: these 6 ships sank after colliding with another vessel.

Atlantic Lost August 20, 1852 · collision · location withheld
Ivanhoe Lost October 4, 1855 · collision
Cortland Lost June 20, 1868 · collision · location withheld
Morning Star Lost June 20, 1868 · collision
Frank E. Vigor Lost April 27, 1944 · collision · location withheld
James H. Reed Lost April 27, 1944 · collision · location withheld

Look, don't take

Look, don't take. Shipwrecks and everything on them are protected by law; removing or disturbing anything can be a crime.

United States: under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act (43 U.S.C. § 2105) the U.S. claims title to abandoned shipwrecks embedded in a state's submerged lands, or resting on them and eligible for the National Register, and transfers that title to the state.
Ohio: R.C. 1506.32 requires a permit from the Director of Natural Resources, approved by the Ohio History Connection, to recover, alter, salvage or destroy abandoned property on, in or near a submerged watercraft or aircraft in Lake Erie.
Michigan: MCL 324.76107 forbids recovering, altering or destroying abandoned property on Great Lakes bottomlands without a joint state permit; penalties run from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by up to 10 years.
New York: Education Law § 233 makes it a class A misdemeanor to investigate, excavate, remove, injure or destroy objects of historical or archaeological interest on, in or under state-owned lands without the written permission of the Commissioner of Education.
Pennsylvania: title to abandoned shipwrecks in Pennsylvania's part of Lake Erie passes to the Commonwealth under the federal Abandoned Shipwreck Act, and state permission is required to disturb them.
Ontario: under the Ontario Heritage Act no one may alter a marine archaeological site or remove an artifact from it without a provincial licence; fines for breaking this rule can reach $1,000,000.

How Lake Erie wrecks are protected

Diving Lake Erie wrecks is dangerous: cold water, poor visibility, depth, entanglement and boat traffic. Nothing here is dive guidance or a dive position. Dive only with proper training, a qualified operator and current information from the groups that maintain moorings.