 Bermuda Shipwrecks
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Bermuda ShipwrecksShipwrecks We DivePelinaion
Rita Zovetta
Cristobal Colon
Iristo (Aristo)
King George
The Kate
Other ShipwrecksL'Herminie
Mary Celestia
Montana (Nola)
Lartington
North Carolina
Darlington
Madiana
Taunton
Blanche King
Caraquet
Xing Da
Hermes
Minnie Breslauer
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Sank: 14 January 1940 -
The Pelinaion was a large cargo steamer, 385 feet (117 meters) long with a 50 foot (15 meters) beam and displacement of 4,291 tons. She was built at Port Glasgow, in 1907, but her ownership changed numerous times before she was purchased by a Greek shipping company and given her present name in 1939.
Sank: 1924 -
The 5,107-ton steamship Rita Zovetta is sunk in 20 (6 meters) to 70 feet (21 meters) of water off St. David's Island at the north-eastern end of Bermuda. Christened the War Gascon when it was launched in 1919 by a Scottish company, the 360-foot-long (109-meters-long) vessel was sold two years later to Parodi and Accame of Genoa, Italy. In 1924, while bound from Poti, Georgia (of the Russian Federation of State) on the Black Sea to Baltimore, Maryland, the Rita Zovetta ran aground off St. David's Light. Strong winds brought heavy seas and most of the manganese ore cargo was off-loaded before the ship sank. No lives were lost.
Sank: 25 October 1936 -
The Cristobal Colon is Bermuda's largest shipwreck, measuring 499 feet (152 meters) in length and three decks high. The Spanish trans-Atlantic luxury liner was completed in 1923 and operated between New York and Central America.
Sank: 1937 -
The Iristo was a most unlucky ship, wrecked because of another shipwreck. Unfamiliar with Bermuda reefs, her captain was surprised by the sight of the wreck of the Cristobal Colon and ordered his ship turned away. The course change caused the Iristo to crash into a submerged reef and subsequently sink in 1937.
Sank: 1930 -
One of three dredgers built for the Bermuda Government, the King George is the only one that remains here. Work began on the 171-foot vessel in 1910 at the Glasgow yard of Lobnitz & Co., and she arrived in Bermuda on 28 June 1911. Approximately four months later, the King George was put to work dredging Town Cut. Her 30 buckets initially dredged to a depth of 30 feet, and she was later refit to dredge a further four. But even that was to prove inadequate for the needs of modern transportation, and in 1930, a new dredger, the Lord Cochrane, was ordered.
Sank: 1 December 1878 -
A 200-foot (60-meters) English Brigantine Rig with an iron propeller, this iron steamer was en route from Galveston, Taxes to Le Havre, France when she struck a reef 22 miles (35 kilometres) northwest of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse on December 1, 1878. All the crew was saved, as was her cargo of 3,500 bales of cotton. The Captain was found at fault and had his license revoked.
Sank: Year 1863 -
Bermuda's most impressive warship wreck is the L'Herminie, a 60 gun French frigate that sank in 1838. This three-masted, wooden hulled sailing vessel was returning to France from a skirmish in Mexico when she crashed into a shallow reef. Some 25 giant cannons remain scattered across the sea floor, partially buried in the sand.
Sank: Year 1864 -
One of Bermuda's most historic shipwrecks is the Mary Celestia - a side paddlewheel steamer chartered by the Confederacy during America's Civil War. She was utilized as a blockade runner, smuggling much needed guns, ammunition, supplies and food to the troops in the South. The sleek, 225 foot (68 meters) ship sank in 1864, after hitting a reef close to the south shore of Bermuda.
Sank: December 1863 -
The Montana was an elusive ship of multiple identities, often operating under the name of Nola, Gloria, Paramount and Montana. She was a highly successful Civil War blockade runner that made frequent trips between England, Bermuda and North Carolina. Built in Glasgow, Scotland, this sleek 236 foot (72 meters) paddlewheel steamer could run at 15 knots. The shallow reef of Bermuda accomplished what no Union gun boat could do and she sank in December 1863.
Sank: 14 December 1879 -
The Lartington was an early vintage freighter that crashed into Bermuda reefs on December 14, 1879. The old steamer had departed Savannah, Georgia, for Russia with a cargo of cotton. Her voyage was not so easy one; she encountered numerous storms and heavy seas. A giant wave cracked her hull, causing a massive leak. The ship's water pumps could not keep ahead of the incoming sea and the captain decided to make a run for Bermuda. She never made it. Instead, the unlucky ship ran aground of the reef 5 miles northwest of the Royal Naval Dockyard. Subsequent storms scattered her remains but her bow section is fairly intact.
Sank: 31 December 1880 -
The wreck of the North Carolina is the classic vision of a sunken sailing ship. The vessel was an iron hulled English barque that measured 205 feet (62 meters) long and displaced 533 tons. The ill-fated ship sank on New Year's day 1880, when she struck a reef. She was en route from Bermuda to England with a general cargo of cotton, bark and fuel.
Sank: 22 February 1886 -
The Darlington was a sturdy iron hulled steamer built in 1881, at the beginning of the age of steam driven ships. She was constructed at the Swan & Hunter Shipyard in Newcastle, England. She measured 286 feet long, with a 36 foot beam and hull displacement of 1,990 tons. The wrecking of this proud vessel was caused by negligence and inexperience. She was en route from New Orleans to Bremen, Germany carrying a cargo of cotton and grain. Her captain failed to assign a lookout while navigating in unfamiliar waters. On February 22, 1886, she crashed into Bermuda's western reefs and could not be refloated.
Sank: 10 February 1903 -
The Madiana was a 345-foot (105 meters) long passenger ship operating under Canadian flag. This steel hulled vessel was originally built in Scotland in 1877 and launched as the Balmoral Castle. She changed ownership several times before being purchased by the Quebec Steamship Company. On route to the West Indies from New York, she planned a stop in Bermuda. The ill-fated vessel ran aground on February 10, 1903 while navigating the channel into Hamilton Harbour. She lies in 25-30 feet (7-9 meters) of water, southwest of North Rock. 
Sank: 24 November 1920 -
The Taunton was a turn of century Danish cargo steamer that fell victim to Bermuda's tricky reefs and sank on November 24, 1920. The 228-foot (69-meters) steel hull vessel was built in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1902 and featured a powerful triple expansion steam engine. She was carrying a cargo of coal from Norfolk to Bermuda when she encountered a misty fog at the entrance to the Island's northern passage though the reefs. The Captain posted a lookout but still the ill fated vessel ran aground Northeast Breakers.
Sank: December 1920 -
The Blanche King was the classic American schooner, a design in wide use at the turn of the century. She was constructed in Maine and launched in 1887. This great sailing ship was a four-masted, two-deck vessel measuring 192 feet (58 meters). Her most unusual feature was a retractable centerboard that allowed her to navigate shallow waters. She was coming to Bermuda from Virginia with a load of coal, when she crashed into the reefs and sank in 1920.
Sank: Summer of 1923 -
The Caraquet was a combination British mail packet and passenger steamer of 350 feet (106 meters). She cruised the Atlantic at the turn of century. Originally built in Belfast, Northern Island, she was launched in 1894. In the summer of 1923, while enroute from St. John, BVI to Halifax, England, the Caraquet ran head on into the reef of Bermuda's Northwest corner. Rough seas, strong currents and poor visibility had pushed her off course and made it difficult to obtain land sightings.
Sank: 15 May 1997 -
This 221 foot (67 meters) freighter became the largest of a US Immigration sting operation to capture those trying to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. On October 6, 1996, crewed by suspected members of the Chinese Mafia known as the Triad, the Xing Da was to rendezvous at a pre-arranged place in mid-Atlantic with a second, smaller ship to transfer the "cargo" and supposedly continue on to America. Instead, what they found 140 miles (225 kilometres) off Bermuda was the US Coast Guard and regiment of the US Marines.
The Hermes is Bermuda's most popular wreck dive because this USCG buoy tender is still fully intact. Built in Pennsylvania in 1943, the small ship is 165 feet (50 meters) long, with a displacement of 825 tons. She was en route to the Cape Verde Islands when she experienced engine trouble near Bermuda. She was eventually abandoned by her crew because repairs were estimated to cost more than the ship was worth. In 1984, the derelict ship became an artificial reef.
The Minnie Breslauer is one of the unluckiest ships to sink in Bermuda waters. She was an English steamer built in 1872. The 300 foot (91 meters) steel hulled freighter was on her maiden voyage between Portugal and New York, loaded with a cargo of wine, dried fruit, bales of cork and 160 pound lead ingots. Unfamiliar with Bermuda reefs, the captain edged his new ship toward the shore, where she collided with a submerged reef and ground to a halt. An attempt to back the ship off the reef only resulted in sinking.