AH-WR-0874

HAZAR

Torpedo Retriever Vessel · United States · Lost 2025 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

A former Navy torpedo retriever, abandoned for years in a Carolina marsh, was deliberately sunk off Charleston in December 2025 as the newest addition to South Carolina's reef program.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

HAZAR was a 120-foot steel torpedo retriever that spent most of its working life in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay, testing underwater weaponry for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. After retirement in 2019 it was bought at auction and sailed to Charleston, where it sat derelict in Bohicket Creek from 2021 until it was retrieved in August 2025. Following weeks of preparation at a Yonges Island shipyard, it was deliberately sunk at reef site Y-23 roughly 40 miles off Charleston on December 7, 2025.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Steel
Length: 120 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Not established
Owners: Formerly operated for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

Loss

Date: December 7, 2025
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Reef site Y-23, roughly 40 miles off Charleston, South Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Yonges Island, South Carolina shipyard → Artificial reef site Y-23
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Newly sunk; not yet significantly colonized as of the sinking date.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Charleston, South Carolina
Region: The Georgia & South Carolina Coast

No documented position found; recorded as unlocated.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

The vessel's exact build year, original Navy hull designation, and the reef site's precise coordinates and depth are not established in the sources reviewed.

Post and Courier, "Abandoned torpedo retriever sunk off Charleston coast"
Sinking date, location, participating agencies, and general vessel history.
Post and Courier, "How a Navy vessel was prepared for artificial reefing in SC"
Vessel's prior Navy service, derelict period in Bohicket Creek, and shipyard preparation for reefing.