SS Proteus
Passenger/Freighter · United States · Lost 1918 · The Outer Banks
A luxurious Cromwell Line passenger steamer sunk in a wartime blackout collision off Hatteras, later demolished as a hazard to navigation.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Launched in 1900 for the Cromwell Line's New York-New Orleans passenger and freight service, Proteus was considered a modern and well-appointed vessel. On August 19, 1918, sailing under wartime blackout conditions in dense fog, she was struck by the tanker SS Cushing off North Carolina and sank about six hours later with the loss of one crewman. The Navy later dynamited the wreck as a hazard to navigation, and it remains a popular deep dive off Ocracoke.
Vessel
- 1900
- Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
- Newport News, Virginia
- Steel
- 390 ft
- 48 ft
- 4836
- Triple expansion steam, single screw, schooner-rigged with two masts
- Southern Pacific Steamship Line (Cromwell Line), New York
Loss
- August 19, 1918
- Collision
- About 20-23 miles south of Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Not established
- 95
- 1
- Harry Boyd
The Wreck Today
- 120-125
- Broken up by U.S. Navy demolition charges during WWII as a navigation hazard; stern rolled onto its port side by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 34.77° N 75.78° W
- Approximate position
- Ocracoke, North Carolina
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA)
Build, collision narrative, casualty, later demolition, Hurricane Sandy damage.
Dimensions, prior incidents, ownership.
