North Carolina Wrecks · United States · Wreck · Artificial reef
Aeolus
A cable ship broken into three pieces by Hurricane Fran
A 134 m cable repair ship put down deliberately as artificial reef AR-305 in 1988, about 35 km (22 miles) from Beaufort Inlet. She landed intact on her starboard side and stayed that way until Hurricane Fran shifted and broke her into three major pieces in 1996, which is the wreck divers find today at 27 to 34 m.
Also known as USNS Aeolus, USS Aeolus (ARC-3).
Where it is and how deep
34.2781° N, 76.6443° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The ship went down intact and lying on her starboard side, and stayed that way for eight years until Hurricane Fran shifted the hull and broke it into three major pieces with wreckage scattered around them. That is what the tie-in line now drops you onto: a section of ship rather than a ship, with the other sections and the scatter somewhere out across the sand at 34 m.
Because the wreck is in three pieces, navigation is the real difficulty here rather than depth. Crews will tell you which section the hook is in and which way the others lie, and the sensible dive is to work one piece thoroughly and return to the line rather than cross open sand hunting for the next. Only limited penetration is possible.
Sitting on flat bottom well offshore, the ship works as an oasis and concentrates what lives out there, and the site holds the full array of offshore marine life including sand tiger sharks. Visibility generally runs 12 to 21 m. On the clearer days one broken section sits comfortably inside that; on a poor day the sand between the pieces is empty water and the line matters more.
The wreck
- Vessel
- USS Aeolus (ARC-3)
- Type
- Cable repair ship
- Length
- 134 m (440 ft)
- Built
- 1945
- Sunk
- 1988
- Cause
- Deliberately sunk to form artificial reef AR-305
- Lies
- In three major pieces with scattered wreckage, about 35 km from Beaufort Inlet (22 miles), in 30 m
Built by the Walsh-Kaiser Company of Providence, Rhode Island in 1945 as the attack cargo ship Turandot, she was converted to a cable repair ship in 1954 and served in the Atlantic and Pacific. The ship was transferred to the State of North Carolina on 28 January 1987 for sinking as an artificial reef and was put down on 29 July 1988 as AR-305. She lay intact on her starboard side until Hurricane Fran shifted the wreck in 1996 and broke it into three major pieces.
Marine life and season
- Sand tiger sharks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season |
Season follows North Carolina Wrecks: Charter season runs roughly April-November; sand tiger shark aggregations peak in September-October, while December-February seas are too rough for most boats.
Know before you go
- The wreck is in three separated pieces, so navigation is genuinely confusing; fix the tie-in point before leaving it and work one section at a time.
- Only limited penetration is possible in what the storm left standing; the internal structure has been broken and shifted, so stay out of it.
- The bottom is at 34 m and the site is 35 km offshore (22 miles), which leaves no margin for an improvised ascent away from the line.
Dive videos
USS Aeolus: and her Sand Tiger Residents · James Bell alive.intheocean on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Why is the Aeolus in three pieces?+
The ship was sunk intact on her starboard side in 1988, and Hurricane Fran shifted and broke the wreck into three major pieces with scattered wreckage in 1996.
How deep is the Aeolus?+
The wreck lies about 35 km from Beaufort Inlet (22 miles) in roughly 30 m of water, with the dive running between 27 and 34 m depending on which section you are working.
Sources
- USS Aeolus (ARC-3) — Wikipedia
- Artificial reef — Wikipedia
- Dive Sites — Discovery Diving
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