August 10, 2004
by Jimmy Moore
Jimmy Moore is a PhD student in Archaeological Oceanography at the  University of Rhode Island.  He received his bachelor's degree in Marine Science at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2000, and his MA in Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University in 2003. He participated in surveying shipwreck sites around St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, and near Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.  Mr. Moore also participated in the excavating and surveying of the steamboat Montana in St. Charles, Missouri. 

After a successful archaeological and biological survey of the Robert E. Lee wreck site, the HOS Dominator traveled to the location of the Alcoa Puritan.  She was a cargo tanker that was shelled and sunk on May 6, 1942 by U-507.  Fortunately, no crewmembers or passengers of Alcoa Puritan were killed in the attack, as the Germans allowed them to disembark before sinking the vessel.

Alcoa Puritan. Photo from Steamship Historical Society of America Collection, University of Baltimore Library.

Lying in 6500 ft of water, Alcoa Puritan is the deepest wreck in the Gulf of Mexico that has been archaeologically surveyed.  Because of the vessel’s depth, extreme pressure is being exerted on the wreckage.  At 6,500 ft. the water pressure equals about 1.5 tons per square inch.  To illustrate how this immense pressure affects delicate objects, the PAST Foundation arranged to have specific objects taken to the same depth as the Alcoa Puritan.  Using spare mesh bags and fish traps, 600 twelve-ounce Styrofoam cups and a bag of ping-pong balls were dropped 6,500 ft below the water’s surface to the site of the Alcoa Puritan.  Before being dropped, each cup was hand decorated; I think some crewmembers became slightly insane by the task of decorating 600 cups in a single afternoon, but the task was successfully completed.  After being strapped in a metallic basket and dropped near the Alcoa Puritan’s wreck site, the cups and ping-pong balls were immediately brought to the surface.  The crew immediately noticed the effects of the extreme pressure forced on these objects.  Each cup, which was initially about five inches high, was compressed to the size of a shot glass, and every ping-pong ball imploded.  A number of these objects will eventually be given to school children so they may learn how the surrounding environment affects deep water shipwrecks and various artifacts. 

Cup-writing session aboard HOS Dominator.

We are rushing at present to complete work on the Alcoa Puritan ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Bonnie, which is forecast to pass through our project area bringing 20-ft high seas.  As experienced as our crew of sea-going scientists is, no one wants to risk being at sea in 80 mph winds.  Our current plans call for completing the work on the Alcoa Puritan and then setting a course to the west out of the storm’s path.  Once Bonnie passes, we will decide what further work we can accomplish in the face of a second tropical storm, Charley.  Even if weather prevents us from reaching our final destination, the wreck of the Anona, the project has been a rousing success from every standpoint.

A sidescan image of Alcoa Puritan. The ship's hatches, cargo derricks and superstructure are clearly visible.