AH-WR-1787

Panam

Tanker · Panama · Lost 1943 · The Outer Banks

A Panamanian tanker torpedoed in 1943 was the last U-boat casualty off North Carolina; its probable wreck remains unconfirmed.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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 1925, the tanker originally sailed as Otokia for the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand before becoming Panam. Seized by the United States and assigned to Marine Transport Lines, it continued under the Panamanian flag. Panam left New York on May 1, 1943, in Convoy NK-53 for Key West with water ballast, 37 merchant seamen and 14 Naval Armed Guard. Engine trouble left it behind the convoy on May 4, and U-129 struck with two torpedoes. Two died; USS SC-664 rescued 49 survivors. NOAA identifies a deep, largely intact sonar target as a probable but unconfirmed wreck of Panam.

Vessel

Built: 1925
Registry: Hull no. 198
Builder: Not established
Yard: Hessle, United Kingdom
Material: Steel
Length: 438.7 ft
Beam: 57.2 ft
Tonnage: 7,277 gross tons
Propulsion: Two two-stroke-cycle single-acting oil engines; oil fuel
Owners: United States War Shipping Administration; chartered to Marine Transport Lines, Inc.

Loss

Date: May 4, 1943
Cause: Enemy action
Location: Off Cape Lookout, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: New York, New York → Key West, Florida
Cargo: Water ballast
Aboard: 51
Lives lost: 2
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 480 feet at the probable surveyed site; identification as Panam remains unconfirmed
Condition: Candidate wreck, not definitively identified: nearly intact bow to stern, upright on its keel, with much superstructure and kingposts still standing.
Orientation: Candidate wreck upright on its keel.
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 34.14° N 76.13° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Cape Lookout, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

NOAA Ship Stats decimal and DMS positions agree to rounding. This is an approximate published surveyed candidate-site position; identification as Panam remains unconfirmed.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)

The final loss is documented, but the probable wreck identity and the source’s builder attribution are not confirmed; builder is omitted.

NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary — Panam
Full institutional narrative, ship statistics, registry (not home port), service, final casualty, archaeological evidence and viewed historical vessel photograph.