Port Hunter
Freighter · United Kingdom · Lost 1918 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals
A British freighter loaded with wartime cargo and motorcycles, sunk in a foggy 1918 collision in Vineyard Sound and still largely intact today.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Port Hunter was a British freighter carrying general cargo and war supplies, including motorcycles and railroad wheels, when she collided with the tug Covington in fog in Vineyard Sound in November 1918. No lives were lost, and the wreck settled largely intact on Hedge Fence Shoal near Martha's Vineyard. More than fifty years of salvage attempts followed, and the site remains a favorite of Vineyard-area wreck divers today.
Vessel
- 1906
- Not established
- Hebburn-on-Tyne, England
- Steel
- 380 ft
- 49 ft
- 4062
- Steam, triple expansion, single screw
- Commonwealth & Dominion Line
Loss
- November 2, 1918
- Collision
- Hedge Fence Shoal, Vineyard Sound, about 1.75 miles NNE of East Chop, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
- Vineyard Sound
- New York
- General cargo and war supplies, including motorcycles, steel billets, railroad car wheels, candles and clothing
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 30-70
- Mostly intact, resting on the slope of the shoal, bow up and stern down
- Not established
- Not established
- Exempted site under the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources
Position
- 41.50° N 70.55° W
- Approximate position
- East Chop, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Position as published by Wreckhunter.net (41-29-43N / 70-33-15W).
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources
Vessel dimensions, tonnage, machinery, protected status.
Loss date, cause, position, wreck condition.
Historical narrative of the collision and salvage history.
