MV Zion Train
Cargo Freighter · Netherlands · Lost 2003 · Florida's Atlantic Coast
A once-notorious drug-running coaster with five prior names, scuttled off Jupiter Inlet in 2003 and now a goliath grouper and lemon shark hotspot.
Captain Douglas C. Delashmutt
See Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in the Netherlands in 1961, the ship passed through at least seven names and owners over four decades of coastal trade. In 1997, while moored on the Miami River as the Vanderpool Express, five of her crew were murdered in a cocaine-smuggling dispute; she later ran aground off Miami Beach and was seized. Purchased by a salvage company, she was intentionally sunk off Jupiter Inlet on June 2, 2003. Hurricanes in 2004 broke the hull apart, leaving the stern section as the dive site's main feature.
Vessel
- 1961
- IMO 5258456
- G.J. van der Werff
- Westerbroek, Netherlands
- Steel
- 164 ft
- 26.3 ft
- 400
- Diesel, single screw
- Schurger Diving & Salvage, Inc. (at loss)
Loss
- June 2, 2003
- Intentional sinking
- About 1 mile north of Jupiter Inlet, Florida
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 75-90
- Broken apart by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004; largest remnant is the stern section, listing to port.
- Listing to port, bow broken off
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 26.96° N 80.01° W
- Approximate position
- Jupiter, Florida
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
Build and name history, sinking date.
Depth and site layout.
