USCGC Tamaroa
Fleet Tug / Coast Guard Cutter · United States · Lost 2017 · Delaware Bay & the Approaches
A World War II fleet tug that supported the Iwo Jima landings and later became the Coast Guard cutter famed for the 1991 'Perfect Storm' rescue, now an artificial reef off Cape May.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Launched in 1943 as the Navy fleet tug USS Zuni, she towed landing craft during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Transferred to the Coast Guard in 1946 as USCGC Tamaroa, she served for decades, most famously in the October 1991 rescue that inspired 'The Perfect Storm.' Decommissioned and sold for reefing, she was jointly sunk by Delaware and New Jersey in 2017 on the Del-Jersey-Land reef.
Vessel
- 1943
- ATF-95 / WMEC-166
- Not established
- Not established
- Steel
- 205 ft
- Not established
- Not established
- Diesel-electric
- U.S. Navy (as Zuni), later U.S. Coast Guard (as Tamaroa)
Loss
- May 10, 2017
- Intentional sinking
- Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Artificial Reef, Atlantic Ocean, approximately 26 nautical miles off Cape May, New Jersey and Lewes, Delaware
- Atlantic Ocean, Delaware Bay approaches
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 130 ft
- Intact, upright, environmentally cleaned prior to sinking
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 38.519° N 74.513° W
- Surveyed position
- Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef, off Cape May, New Jersey
Position announced by the states of Delaware and New Jersey at time of sinking
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
State of Delaware News (DNREC)
Sinking date, coordinates, service history summary
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Reef program context, joint state sinking details
