Caribsea
Bulk Freighter · United States · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks
A WWII ore freighter torpedoed off Cape Lookout in under three minutes, now an intact, richly documented wreck and sand tiger shark haven.
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The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1919 as the Great Lakes freighter Lake Flattery, the ship was later renamed Buenaventura and finally Caribsea under the Stockard Steamship Company. On March 11, 1942, while carrying manganese ore from Cuba to Norfolk, she was struck by two torpedoes from U-158 and sank in under three minutes, killing 21 of her 28-man crew. NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary has surveyed the wreck in detail, and it remains a leading North Carolina wreck dive.
Vessel
- 1919
- McDougall-Duluth Shipbuilding Company
- Duluth, Minnesota
- Steel
- 251 ft
- 43 ft
- 2609
- Triple expansion steam, single screw
- Stockard Steamship Company, New York
Loss
- March 11, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 15 miles northeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- Santiago, Cuba → Norfolk, Virginia
- 3,600 tons of manganese ore
- 28
- 21
- Nicholas Manolis
The Wreck Today
- 90 ft
- Largely intact, sitting upright on a sandy plain, torpedo damage amidships.
- Upright
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 34.607° N 76.314° W
- Surveyed position
- Cape Lookout, North Carolina
Position published by NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary survey.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (92/100)
NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
Build, dimensions, loss date, casualties, wreck site condition, coordinates.
Attack narrative and survivor account.
