North Carolina Wrecks · United States · Wreck
Tamaulipas
The Far East Tanker: 47 m, the fleet's deepest charter wreck
The deepest wreck on the regular Beaufort charter list, an American tanker torpedoed by U-552 in April 1942 and lying in 47 m (155 ft) of water. Boats call her the Far East Tanker for how far east of shore she sits, and the run out plus the 47-metre bottom make this a full day for experienced divers only.
Also known as Far East Tanker.
Where it is and how deep
34.4200° N, 76.0000° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The Tamaulipas is called the Far East Tanker not because of where she was built but because of how far east of shore she lies, and the ride out is part of what makes her a serious day. She sits in 155 feet of water, about 47 metres, which is the deepest of the wrecks the Beaufort boats run to and well past the point where a recreational plan gives you room to explore.
Visibility over her is generally 60 to 70 feet (21 m), better than on the inshore wrecks, so you see a useful amount of the ship from the tie-in line before you leave it. She is a big tanker hull, and there is far more of her than one bottom time covers: divers pick a section, dive that section, and come back to the line rather than trying to swim her end to end.
Everything about the dive is decided before you get in. Depth sets the gas, the gas sets the bottom time, and the tie-in line sets the route back, because ascending away from it in open water off Cape Lookout is not a plan. Divers who are not comfortable carrying a decompression obligation belong on the shallower wrecks instead.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Tamaulipas
- Type
- Tanker
- Length
- 138 m (453 ft)
- Sunk
- 1942
- Cause
- Torpedoed off Cape Lookout by the German submarine U-552
- Lies
- In 47 m (155 ft) of water, far east of shore, the deepest of the regular charter wrecks
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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 47 metres this is the deepest wreck on the charter list. No-stop time is a few minutes at most, so a decompression plan and the gas to cover it are part of the dive, not a contingency.
- The site is a long way offshore in open ocean. Ascend on the tie-in line and carry a surface marker in case you come up away from it.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Tamaulipas wreck?+
She lies in 155 feet, about 47 metres, which makes her the deepest wreck the Beaufort charter boats visit regularly. Bottom times are short and the dive is planned around gas and decompression.
Why is the Tamaulipas called the Far East Tanker?+
Not for anything to do with the Far East. The nickname comes from her position: she lies far east of shore, further out than the other wrecks on the charter list, which is why the trip to her is a longer day.
Sources
- North Carolina Dive Sites — Discovery Diving
- List of shipwrecks of North Carolina — Wikipedia
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