USCGC Duane
Coast Guard Cutter · United States · Lost 1987 · The Florida Keys
A World War II-era Coast Guard cutter deliberately sunk off Key Largo in 1987 to create an artificial reef, now a popular deep dive site.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USCGC Duane was a Treasury-class cutter built in 1936 that served in convoy escort duty in World War II and continued decades of Coast Guard service afterward. Decommissioned in 1985 as the oldest active U.S. military vessel of her time, she was donated for use as an artificial reef. On November 27, 1987, she was scuttled off Molasses Reef near Key Largo alongside her sister ship Bibb. She remains upright and largely intact, a popular technical dive site today.
Vessel
- 1936
- WPG-33 / WAGC-6 / WHEC-33
- Not established
- Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Steel
- 327 ft
- 41 ft
- Not established
- Steam turbine, twin screw
- United States Coast Guard
Loss
- November 27, 1987
- Intentional sinking
- About 1 mile south of Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Florida
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 120 ft
- Sits upright and largely intact on a sandy bottom.
- Upright
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 25.00° N 80.38° W
- Approximate position
- Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Florida
Position rounded from NOAA's description of the site as roughly one mile south of Molasses Reef; not a surveyed decimal coordinate.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Service history, decommissioning, sinking date and depth.
Build details and class information.
Los Angeles Times (Associated Press)
Contemporary account of the scuttling.
