The Proteus

First placed in service in 1900 the Proteus was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding Company to a high standard.  The luxury liner Proteus was a very well appointed and modern vessel capable of making good speed on her trips between New York and New Orleans.  The Proteus served on this run for many years carrying passengers in comfort and freight in her holds for the Southern Pacific Company.  Contemporary reports on the vessel's accommodations lauded the fact the staterooms were elegantly appointed; toilets and bath rooms were available for all those aboard and she had spacious round and rectangular portholes to provide excellent ventilation as well as electric lighting throughout.  This along with the fact that independent mess facilities existed for the crewmembers, steerage passengers and the first class made for "passenger arrangements that could not be improved upon".

On August 14, 1918, she left New Orleans for the last time.  The liner made and uneventful journey until she encountered fog in the area offshore of North Carolina on Sunday, August 19th, causing Captain Boyd to order a reduced speed.  The Proteus was also running without her navigation lights illuminated as was recommended during this period of World War I since German submarines were sinking vessels along the US coast.  As the Proteus continued on her course towards the Diamond Shoals Lightship, 34 miles distant, the Tanker Cushing appeared.  The helm was turned hard to port and the whistle sounded, but the Tanker collided with the Proteus, striking her starboard, amidships and creating a gapping wound below the water line.  

Immediately after the collision a crewmember, who was a fireman, panicked and leapt overboard to be lost.  He would be the only casualty, besides the liner herself.  Captain Boyd ordered and coordinated a successful abandoning of the sinking vessel and was the last person to leave the ship.  All 12 passengers and the 82 crew were aboard the damaged but still afloat Cushing within the hour.  The collision occurred around 0200 in the morning and a short while later the Proteus went to the bottom in 125 feet of water almost 25 miles south of Hatteras inlet.  

Today, the Proteus lays on a hard sandy bottom with a list to port.  She is intact from Bow to Stern with the port side low in the sand and sections of the starboard hull rising almost 20 feet from the bottom in places.  The bow of the liner is identifiable though not much of it remains. What is there points towards the surface rising about 25 feet from the bottom.  Aft of the bow divers will encounter a large windlass in the center of the wreckage immediately adjacent to the remains of the cargo hatches.   Just aft of this area and towards the port side of the vessel is where many divers have been lucky enough to recover china and silverware.  It takes a sharp eye and knowledge where to dig, but dinnerware is still sometimes recovered from the galley area.  From the boilers to the stern is where the Proteus is most impressive as a shipwreck as she still rises over 30 feet from the sand.  The large boilers dominate the wreck amidships, one smaller boiler has rolled off it's beds and now lays askew.  The triple expansion engine has fallen over towards the port side and lays on it's side but is still attached to the propeller shaft.  The engine and associated machinery are covered in a variety of hard corrals and other growth, but the shapes of gears and valves are still easily discerned.  The propeller shaft leads from the engine to the stern and is still enclosed in the shaft alley along most of it's length, though the casing is rusting away and now has large holes through which the shaft can been seen.

The very stern section has the highest relief on the wreck site and from this vantage point I have watched some very interesting sea life swim past.  It is also at the stern, in the washout at the propeller, that many of the sharks frequently found on this wreck seem to hang out.  On most dives at least one or two sandtiger sharks can be seen here, but on many occasions there may be too many to accurately count.  Besides the sharks, the Proteus can be relied upon to hold a wide variety of sea life with a large number of big groupers often present.  

The Proteus is one of our most requested wreck sites as it is in generally very clear water and has so often offered spectacular diving.  If you are ready for a dive that you will not forget, the Proteus is waiting for you.

DiveHatterasHome

Send mail to  webmaster@divehatteras.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2003 Last modified: September 09, 2003