AH-WR-0556

Slobodna

Ship (Fully-Rigged Sailing Vessel) · Austria-Hungary · Lost 1887 · The Florida Keys

An Austrian cotton ship that grounded on Molasses Reef in 1887, her cargo swelling with seawater until the hull burst apart.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The Austrian fully-rigged ship Slobodna, built in 1884 in Losinj, wrecked on Molasses Reef on March 16, 1887, while carrying roughly 4,500 bales of cotton from New Orleans toward Europe. Heavy seas foiled wreckers' attempts to free her, and water entering the hold caused the cotton to swell and burst the hull. Salvagers spent over a month recovering the cargo. Scattered wreckage on Molasses Reef, including sites called the Winch Hole and Brass Pin Wreck, is tentatively identified with Slobodna.

Vessel

Built: 1884
Builder: Not established
Yard: Losinj (present-day Croatia)
Material: Wood
Length: 170 ft
Beam: 35 ft
Tonnage: 1199
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: March 16, 1887
Cause: Storm
Location: Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Florida
Water: Straits of Florida
Voyage: New Orleans, Louisiana → Europe
Cargo: About 4,500 bales of cotton
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Wreckage scattered across Molasses Reef, associated with the sites known as "Winch Hole," "Mast Wreck," and "Brass Pin Wreck"; identification as Slobodna is tentative.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Molasses Reef Sanctuary Preservation Area, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Position

Coordinates: 25.02° N 80.37° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Key Largo, Florida
Region: The Florida Keys

General area only: coordinate of Molasses Reef from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)

The identification of the Molasses Reef wreckage as Slobodna, rather than the similarly lost ship Northampton, has not been conclusively confirmed by archaeologists.