AH-WR-0668

MV Castor

Cargo Freighter · Panama · Lost 2001 · Florida's Atlantic Coast

A drug-smuggling freighter seized with over 10,000 pounds of cocaine, later scuttled off Boynton Beach as one of Florida's premier goliath grouper dive sites.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in the Netherlands in 1970, the vessel worked under more than a dozen names over three decades. In 1999 she was stopped by the Coast Guard carrying roughly 10,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in sugar bags, one of the larger seizures of its era. Abandoned by her owners after seizure, she was acquired by Palm Beach County and scuttled off Boynton Beach in December 2001 to create an artificial reef. She is now one of the most visited wrecks on the Palm Beach coast, known for large seasonal aggregations of goliath grouper.

Vessel

Built: 1970
Builder: Bodewes Scheepswerven B.V.
Yard: Martenshoek, Netherlands
Material: Steel
Length: 258 ft
Beam: 37 ft
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Diesel, single screw
Owners: Palm Beach County Artificial Reef Program (at loss)

Loss

Date: December 14, 2001
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Off Boynton Beach, Florida
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 0
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 80-110
Condition: Upright with collapsed starboard hull and wheelhouse sections from hurricane damage over time.
Orientation: Upright, bow south
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established