SS Merida

SS Merida

History
Name:	Merida
Owner:	Ward Line (New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company)
Builder:	William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding, Philadelphia, PA
Yard number:	Hull 332[1]
Launched:	26 January 1906
Completed:	1906
In service:	1906
Fate:	Sank 12 May 1911
Notes:	Wreck site coordinates: 37°20′0″N 74°40′57″W / 37.33333°N 74.68250°W
General characteristics
Type:	Steamship
Tonnage:	6,207
Length:	400 ft (120 m)
Beam:	50 ft (15 m)
Draft:	17 feet (5.2 m)
Propulsion:	2 × reciprocating steam engines
Speed:	17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)

SS Merida was a Ward Line steamer that was struck in a dense fog by the steamer SS Admiral Farragut^[2] and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia Capes, United States, with a loss of approximately $2,000,000 in Mexican gold, silver, copper, and jewels.^[3][4] The 326 passengers and crew aboard Merida were rescued within two hours of the accident. First they were ferried by lifeboat to the damaged Admiral Farragut, then they were put aboard the steamship SS Hamilton, which had responded to the SOS signal. Merida′s wreck lies approximately 55 nautical miles (102 km) from Cape Charles, Virginia, at a depth of 210 feet (64 meters).^[5] In 1924, the wreck was rediscovered.^[6] The treasure-hunting organization Gulfstream Ventures secured legal control over the wreck site in 2013.^[7]

• 
  Herbert O. Benson, the radio operator on Merida
• 
  Herbert O. Benson, the radio operator on Merida who sent out the SOS

References

1. Farr, Gail E; Bostwick, Brett F; Willis, Merville (1991). Shipbuilding at Cramp & Sons (PDF). Philadelphia: Philadelphia Maritime Museum. p. 37. ISBN 0-913346-18-7.
2. "Sunk in Sea Crash; 319 Persons Saved" (pdf). The New York Times. 13 May 1911. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
3. "Everything Lost On Merida. Ship and Passengers' Effects Worth $2,000,000, Says Company's Agent" (pdf). The New York Times. 14 May 1911. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
4. "Purser Says Treasure Ship Carried Bullion and Other Wealth". The New York Times. 3 July 1925. Retrieved 2010-09-11. (subscription required (help)).
5. "In 1911, the passenger liner Merida sank off the coast of Virginia and all of its passengers were rescued". The Virginian-Pilot. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
6. "Treasure Ship Merida Found At Sea Bottom". The Baltimore Sun. 28 October 1924. Retrieved 2010-09-11. (subscription required (help)).
7. "Sunken Treasure of the S.S. Merida". Yucatan Living. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-12.