Atlantus - Shipwrecks on Waymarking.com

During the first World War there was critical shortage of steel. The federal government turned to an experimental design of concrete ships. President Woodrow Wilson approved the construction of 38 concrete ships. Only 12 Of the 38 were built, at a total cost of $50 million. By the time the ships were completed, the war had already ended.

The concrete ships were an experiment that was tried twice, and failed both times. During the First World War the U-boat surprised everyone by becoming a potent and offensive slayer of merchant ships. In this era before SONAR and depth charges the only real counter to the U-boat threat was to build merchant ships faster than the Germans could sink them. This placed a strain on America’s steel industry, burdened already by weapons production. Preliminary analysis by the American Bureau of Shipping suggested that a 350 foot concrete ship using steel reinforcing bars in a manner similar to the common driveway would use about 1/3 the steel of a conventional ship. On April 21, 1918, funding was approved and orders went to the yards owned by the Emergency Fleet Corporation for a total of 38 ships. Nobody knew that the armistice was less than seven months away.

The first of the ships, the Atlantis was scheduled to be put into service in November 1919. The armistice caught the world by surprise, ships were in various stages of construction and some had not even been started. Decisions were made and contracts modified or cancelled. Eventually twelve of the ships were completed.

The S. S. Atlantus is probably the most famous concrete ship constructed in the World War I Emergency Fleet. She was built by the Liberty Ship Building Company in Brunswick, Georgia and launched on December 5, 1918. The war had ended a month earlier, but the Atlantus was used to transport American troops back home from Europe and also to transport coal in New England. In 1920, the ship was retired to a salvage yard in Virginia.

In 1926, the Atlantus was purchased by Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld to be used as ferry dock in Cape May, New Jersey for a proposed ferry between Cape May and Cape Henlopen, DE. The plan was to dig a channel into to the shore where the Atlantus would be placed. Two other concrete ships would be purchased to form a Y-shape where the ferry would dock.

In March 1926, the groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the construction of the ferry dock. The Atlantus was repaired and towed to Cape May. On June 8th, a storm hit and the ship broke free of her moorings and ran aground 150 feet off the coast of Sunset Beach. Several attempts were made to free the ship, but none were successful.

Since then the Atlantus has become a tourist attraction seen by millions. People used to swim out to the ship and dive off, until one young man drowned. At one time, a billboard was also placed on the ship. Starting in the late 50's, the ship began to split apart in the midsection.

Location
The S. S. Atlantus can be seen at Sunset Beach in Cape May, NJ. Unfortunately the ocean has taken its toll on the ship and she has broken apart. It's only a matter of time before the last of her remains crumble beneath the waves.

A sign on the beach reads:

S. S. Atlantus

Remains of experimental
concrete ship. One of twelve
built during World War 1.
Proven impractical after
several trans-Atlantic trips
because of weight.
Broke loose during storm
(June 1926) went aground.
Attempt to free her were futile.

The World War I Emergency concrete Fleet Info:http://www.concreteships.org/ships/ww1/

To log your visit, please post a photo of you and or your GPS on the beach overlooking the shipwreck.

Date of Shipwreck: 1926/06/08 Type of Boat: Steamboat Military or Civilian: Military Cause of Shipwreck: broke loose of her moorings during a storm and went aground. Accessibility: Remains are 150 feet from the beach. Diving Permitted: yes

Visit Instructions:
Only log the site if you have visited it personally.
Floating over a site does not qualify as a find if it is a wreck that requires diving - you must have actually visited the site - therefore photos of the site are good.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/05/2021 deepdish23 visited it 06/25/2018 tnwave visited it 03/01/2018 jiggs11 visited it 10/08/2017 Mychell visited it 10/22/2016 Janila visited it 09/15/2016 siff visited it 07/09/2014 Searcher28 visited it 09/24/2013 urpickle visited it 05/22/2011 InGodsHands visited it 09/22/2010 iwasthere visited it 09/14/2010 greenparrot visited it 06/12/2010 bpom visited it 10/02/2009 SquirtGunn visited it 05/18/2009 CanToo visited it 09/06/2008 TheWildRoots visited it 07/07/2008 ftangftang visited it 11/17/2006 Math Teacher visited it 08/28/2006 Wanderings visited it 07/08/2006 mothership visited it 06/12/2006 rah126 visited it 05/02/2006 GeodeGal visited it 10/15/2005 ODragon visited it 09/26/2005 Team Jackal visited it 09/17/2005 Ernmark visited it

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