AH-WR-0747

SS V.A. Fogg

Tanker · United States · Lost 1972 · Texas & the Western Gulf

A WWII-built T2 tanker whose 1972 benzene-vapor explosion killed all 39 aboard; now a Texas dive site and the seed of the Freeport reef complex.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built during World War II as SS Four Lakes, the tanker was renamed V.A. Fogg in 1971. On February 1, 1972, while steaming from Freeport to Galveston to clean cargo tanks that had held benzene, she suffered a catastrophic series of explosions and sank, killing all 39 people aboard. Investigators concluded that ignited benzene vapors most likely caused the blasts. Her wreck now anchors part of the Texas Freeport artificial reef complex and is dived by Texas Gulf charter operators.

Vessel

Built: 1944
Registry: Official number 244971
Builder: Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company
Yard: Mobile, Alabama
Material: Steel
Length: 572 ft
Beam: 75.3 ft
Tonnage: 19902
Propulsion: Turbo-electric, single screw
Owners: Ithaca Corporation (Texas City Tankers, Inc.)

Loss

Date: February 1, 1972
Cause: Fire
Location: In the Gulf of Mexico off Freeport, Texas
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: Freeport, Texas → Galveston, Texas
Cargo: Benzene residue; carrying xylene at time of explosion
Aboard: 39
Lives lost: 39
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 100 ft
Condition: Hull nearly split in two by the explosion
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 28.58° N 94.82° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Freeport, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

Position reported in period sources as roughly 60 miles from Galveston at 28°35'N, 94°49.3'W; not confirmed against a modern survey.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)

The precise ignition source of the first explosion was never conclusively established by investigators, and the wreck's exact modern coordinates are not confirmed against a recent survey.