North Carolina Wrecks · United States · Wreck
SS Atlas
A dark 1942 tanker where sand tigers hang over the boilers
An oil tanker torpedoed by U-552 on the east side of Cape Lookout in April 1942, lying between about 27 and 40 metres with her boilers, engine, anchors, propeller and rudder still identifiable. Visibility runs 30 to 60 feet (18 m), which makes it a darker dive than most on this coast, and sand tiger sharks hold over the wreckage.
Where it is and how deep
34.5283° N, 76.2421° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The Atlas sits east of Cape Lookout and is normally paired with the Caribsea, so it is one half of a two-dive day rather than a destination on its own. Charters give the depth as 90 to 130 feet, about 27 to 40 metres, and visibility here generally runs 30 to 60 feet (18 m), noticeably tighter than on the fleet's clearer wrecks. That combination is what has given the site its reputation as a darker, creepier wreck by North Carolina standards.
There is a good deal of ship left to find. The boilers and engine are the obvious landmarks amidships, and the anchors, propeller and rudder are all still discernible, so a dive here is a sequence of recognisable pieces linked by lower plating rather than one continuous hull. Keep the structure in sight in the low light and work between features instead of crossing open sand.
Sand tigers are regulars over the wreck, and in poor visibility they appear at close range rather than from a distance, which is the main reason divers rate the site. Bottom time at 40 metres is short: pick which end of the wreck you want, dive that, and come back up the tie-in line.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Atlas
- Type
- Tanker
- Length
- 136 m (446 ft)
- Built
- 1916
- Sunk
- 1942
- Cause
- Torpedoed by the German submarine U-552
- Lies
- Broken but structured, boilers, engine, anchors, propeller and rudder still discernible
The Atlas was an oil tanker built in 1916 by Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia and owned by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, later Mobil. On 9 April 1942 she was torpedoed and sunk off Cape Lookout by U-552 under KL Erich Topp, one of a run of tanker losses along this coast that spring. Thirty-two survivors were picked up by the Coast Guard and landed at Morehead City.
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
- At up to 40 metres with 9 to 18 metres of visibility, this is a dark dive with a short no-stop time. Agree a maximum depth and a turn time before you enter the water.
- Low light and broken plating make it easy to lose the tie-in line. Carry a torch, note your heading off the line and navigate back to it rather than surfacing away from the boat.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the SS Atlas wreck?+
Operators give the dive as 90 to 130 feet, roughly 27 to 40 metres. With visibility generally 30 to 60 feet (18 m), that makes it an advanced dive with a short no-stop time and very little margin for wandering off the wreck.
What can you see on the Atlas?+
The boilers and engine are the main landmarks, with the anchors, propeller and rudder still recognisable. Sand tiger sharks are frequently over the wreckage, and in the low visibility they show up close rather than at range.
Sources
- North Carolina Dive Sites — Discovery Diving
- List of shipwrecks of North Carolina — Wikipedia
- Atlas - NOAA Monitor National Marine Sanctuary — NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
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