AH-WR-0120

Eagle

Freighter · Lost 1985 · The Florida Keys

A fire-gutted freighter sunk as an artificial reef off Islamorada, later split in two by hurricanes.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in the Netherlands in 1962 as the freighter Raila Dan, the vessel passed through seven names and several owners before a 1985 fire as the Arron K. left her a constructive total loss. Local divers and businesses raised funds to buy and clean the hull, renaming her Eagle Tire Co. She broke free of her mooring the night before her planned scuttling and was sunk the next day, December 19, 1985, off Lower Matecumbe Key. Hurricane Georges snapped the wreck in two in 1998.

Vessel

Built: 1962
Builder: Bijkers Shipyard
Yard: Gorinchem, Netherlands
Material: Steel
Length: 287 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Diesel, single screw
Owners: J. Lauritzen A/S (as Raila Dan); Florida Keys Artificial Reef Association (final)

Loss

Date: December 19, 1985
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Atlantic Ocean off Lower Matecumbe Key, Florida Keys
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 70-115
Condition: Broken into two sections by Hurricane Georges in 1998, further damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017
Orientation: Resting on starboard side
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Position

Coordinates: 24.87° N 80.57° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Lower Matecumbe Key, Florida
Region: The Florida Keys

A dive-charter site listing gives these GPS coordinates for the Eagle artificial-reef wreck northeast of Alligator Reef; NOAA sanctuary text confirms the general location but does not state a numeric position in the material reviewed.