AH-WR-0879

Ken Vitale

Offshore Supply Vessel · United States · Lost 1999 · Florida's Atlantic Coast

A drug-smuggling supply vessel turned Fort Lauderdale reef, now the memorial centerpiece of the Wreck Trek dive route.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Originally an offshore oil rig supply vessel named Tracey, this 131-foot ship was seized by U.S. Customs for drug trafficking and sat derelict on the Miami River before being sunk by the Broward County Artificial Reef Program on March 2, 1999. She is informally known as the Ken Vitale in memory of a beloved local dive instructor commemorated by a plaque aboard. Today she is the central vessel of the Fort Lauderdale Wreck Trek, chained to the tug Jay Scutti and the freighter Merci Jesus.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Steel
Length: 131 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Not established
Owners: Seized by U.S. Customs for drug trafficking prior to reefing

Loss

Date: March 2, 1999
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Fort Lauderdale Wreck Trek, offshore Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 55-75
Condition: Upright, bow pointing north, forming the central vessel of a three-wreck complex connected by a 200-foot chain.
Orientation: Upright, bow north
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 26.16° N 80.08° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Region: Florida's Atlantic Coast

Coordinates as reported by dive-charter sources; not independently verified against a government survey.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (65/100)

The vessel's builder, year of construction, and full ownership history prior to seizure are not established in the sources reviewed.

OceanWide Explorers, "Fort Lauderdale Wreck Trek: Diving the Tracey"
Vessel history, sinking date, seizure for drug trafficking, and memorial renaming.
PADI dive site listing, "Jay Scutti"
Wreck Trek configuration and relationship between the Jay Scutti, Ken Vitale, and Merci Jesus wrecks.