AH-WR-0378

Empire Mica

Tanker · United Kingdom · Lost 1942 · The Gulf of Mexico

A British tanker on her maiden loaded voyage from Texas, torpedoed and broken apart off the Florida Panhandle, now a popular dive site.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Empire Mica was a British-flagged tanker carrying vaporizing oil from Texas toward the United Kingdom when U-67 torpedoed her off Cape San Blas. She caught fire, exploded, and broke apart, killing 33 of the 47 aboard. The wreck, later reduced by Coast Guard demolition, is now a well-known dive site on the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail.

Vessel

Built: 1941
Builder: Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd
Yard: Haverton Hill, Middlesbrough, England
Material: Steel
Length: 465 ft
Beam: 61 ft
Tonnage: 8032
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Ministry of War Transport, operated by Anglo-American Oil Co

Loss

Date: June 29, 1942
Cause: Enemy action
Location: About 21 miles south of Cape San Blas, Florida
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: Baytown, Texas, via New Orleans → United Kingdom via Key West
Cargo: 12,000 tons of vaporizing oil
Aboard: 47
Lives lost: 33
Master: Hugh Gordon Bradford Bentley

The Wreck Today

Depth: 110 ft
Condition: Broken apart; stern and bridge sections were later reduced by Coast Guard demolition as a navigation hazard.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established