Maurice R. Shaw
Three-Masted Schooner Barge · Lost 1916 · The Outer Banks
A three-masted lumber barge abandoned near Wimble Shoals after a northeasterly gale in 1916.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Maurice R. Shaw was built in Maryland in 1912 by Henry Deibert Building Company. The three-masted schooner-barge hauled lumber under tow along the East Coast. On its final voyage from Jacksonville to Portland, it encountered a gale and blinding snow off North Carolina. NOAA dates the loss to February 15, 1916, and describes its abandonment near Wimble Shoals after seas swept its deck clean.
Full Record
Maurice R. Shaw was built in Maryland in 1912 by Henry Deibert Building Company. The three-masted schooner-barge hauled lumber under tow along the East Coast. On its final voyage from Jacksonville to Portland, it encountered a gale and blinding snow off North Carolina. NOAA dates the loss to February 15, 1916, and describes its abandonment near Wimble Shoals after seas swept its deck clean. The towing tug Eastern was accompanied by the barge Harry F. Hooper, which was cast off during the gale. Eastern and Maurice R. Shaw anchored overnight. The next morning the barge’s deck was swept clean of cargo and crew, and the tug cut it loose near Wimble Shoals. NOAA describes foundering near the gas buoy and a derelict sighting four days after abandonment; the final settling sequence is not established.
Vessel
- 1912
- Henry Deibert Building Company
- Maryland
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Under tow; fitted with a steam engine and two steam pumps (NOAA does not establish self-propulsion)
- Not established
Loss
- February 15, 1916
- Storm
- Near Wimble Shoals gas buoy, North Carolina; historical location reference, not a surveyed wreck position
- Atlantic Ocean
- Jacksonville, Florida → Portland, Maine
- Cypress lumber
- Not established
- The account describes a deck swept clean of crew but does not establish the number aboard, survivors or a confirmed casualty total.
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Hatteras Island, North Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (87/100)
Exact wreck coordinates, dimensions, crew headcount and final settling sequence are not established in the NOAA account.
NOAA Ocean Exploration — Wimble Shoals Shipwrecks
Construction year and place, vessel configuration, trading career, dated final voyage, cargo, weather and loss narrative; survivor detail and uncertainty retained as stated.
