WreckMarine Protected Area

SS Benwood (Key Largo)

Depth: 8–15 mLevel: Open WaterAll year round

A freighter of some 110 m that in 1942 collided with another ship: both were running with their lights out because of the war. After salvage only the bow and part of the hull remain, with recesses in which the fauna shelters.

Depth

8–15 m

Recommended level

Open Water

Average visibility

25 m

A Norwegian freighter sunk in 1942 after a collision; one of the most accessible and most photographed wrecks in the Keys.

Protection status

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (designated on 16 November 1990; it protects 4,539 square miles)

Did you know?

Unlike the Duane, the Spiegel Grove or the Vandenberg, the Benwood is not an artificial reef sunk on purpose: it is a genuine shipwreck.

Sources consulted: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries · floridakeys.noaa.gov · PADI Blog · Scuba Diving Magazine · Wikipedia

Location

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