C-55 Teniente Juan de la Barrera
Minesweeper · Mexico · Lost 2000 · The Mexican Gulf Coast & Campeche
A World War II US Navy minesweeper that served the Mexican Navy for decades before being sunk deliberately off Isla Mujeres as a diver reef in 2000.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in San Francisco in 1943 as USS Ransom, this Admirable-class minesweeper served in the Pacific during World War II, earning battle honors for mine-clearing and rescue work under kamikaze attack near Okinawa. Sold to the Mexican Navy in 1962, she served for decades as ARM DM-12 and later as C-55 Teniente Juan de la Barrera. In May 2000 the Mexican government deliberately sank her off Isla Mujeres to create an artificial reef, and she now rests upright at about 80 feet, a popular wreck dive within the Cancún-Isla Mujeres marine park.
Vessel
- 1943
- AM-283 (US Navy); C-55 (Mexican Navy)
- General Engineering and Dry Dock Company
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Steel
- 184 ft
- 33 ft
- Not established
- Diesel-electric, twin screw
- United States Navy (1943-1962), Mexican Navy (1962-2000)
Loss
- May 1, 2000
- Intentional sinking
- Off Isla Mujeres, near Cancún, Quintana Roo
- Caribbean Sea
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 80 ft
- Largely intact, upright on the seabed, colonized by marine life.
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Parque Nacional Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc
Position
- 21.19° N 86.73° W
- Approximate position
- Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo
Approximate published dive-site position southwest of Isla Mujeres.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Scuba Total Cancún (dive operator historical account)
Build history, US Navy and Mexican Navy service, sinking date and depth.
USS Ransom wartime service details including Okinawa operations.
