Equipoise
Freighter · Lost 1942 · The Outer Banks
A seized Italian freighter sailing under Panama's flag, Equipoise was torpedoed off Virginia in 1942 with the loss of 41 men.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built at Glasgow in 1906 as Chanda for the British India Steam Navigation Company, she became the Italian Pietro Campanella in 1925. The United States seized her in August 1941 and placed her under the Panamanian flag as Equipoise. Returning from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore with manganese ore, she was torpedoed by U-160 in the early hours of March 27, 1942, about 65 miles southeast of Cape Henry. Only 13 of her 54 crew survived.
Vessel
- 1906
- Barclay, Curle and Co.
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Steel
- 430.2 ft
- 54.3 ft
- Not established
- Steam
- Not established
Loss
- March 27, 1942
- Enemy action
- About 65 miles southeast of Cape Henry, Virginia
- Atlantic Ocean
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil → Baltimore, Maryland
- 8,000 tons of manganese ore
- Not established
- 41
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 140 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Cape Henry, Virginia
No pin: NOAA gives only a last known position and has not visited the site.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
Her wreck site is believed but not confirmed by NOAA.
NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary — Equipoise
Ship stats, ownership and loss narrative read; underlying records not independently inspected.
