AH-WR-0860

M/V Twin Capes

Vehicle-Passenger Ferry · United States · Lost 2018 · Delaware Bay & the Approaches

A retired Cape May-Lewes ferry deliberately sunk in 2018 to join Delaware's artificial reef fleet alongside a decommissioned destroyer and Coast Guard cutter.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1974 for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, Twin Capes carried vehicles and passengers between Cape Henlopen, Delaware, and Cape May, New Jersey, for over four decades. Rising operating costs made her too expensive to maintain, and after a failed sale attempt she was purchased for reefing. On June 15, 2018, she was sunk on the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef, joining the destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford and the cutter Tamaroa as part of Delaware's artificial reef program.

Vessel

Built: 1974
Builder: Todd Shipyards
Yard: Houston, Texas
Material: Steel
Length: 320 ft
Beam: 68 ft
Tonnage: 2100
Propulsion: Diesel
Owners: Delaware River and Bay Authority

Loss

Date: June 15, 2018
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Artificial Reef, Atlantic Ocean, approximately 26 nautical miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey and Lewes, Delaware
Water: Atlantic Ocean, Delaware Bay approaches
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 120 ft
Condition: Intact, upright, deliberately reefed with added deck structures for habitat
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established