A new video released by the Bermuda Department of Conservation Services explores the wreckage of the British mail steamship “Caraquet” which came to grief on the island’s reefs 90 years ago.

Caraquet 1864 – Bermuda Shipwrecks from Conservation Services on Vimeo.

Video: Exploring The “Caraquet” Shipwreck

Built in 1894, the 200-foot ship sank on June 25, 1923 in fog on a rough sea after a navigational miscalculation resulted in the ship being wrecked on Bermuda’s northern barrier reef approximately 10 miles to the north-west of Fort St. Catherine.

Today the wreckage is spread out over a wide area covering almost two acres in 35 to 40 feet of water.

The most distinctive portions of the wreckage are her engine, four prominent boilers [the large tin can-shaped units in which steam pressure was built up to drive the engine], two large deck winches and her massive anchor, all of which are lying on top of the flattened collapsed hull and deck plates of the ship.

This wreck is a popular dive site that is celebrated for its extensive wreckage in shallow clear water.

The “Caraquet” was heavily salvaged for her brass and bronze at the time of her sinking and then again after World War II. The wreck was never lost and was always known as a fishing site.

This film is part of the Bermuda Shipwrecks Series filmed by Adam Geiger of Sea Light Pictures through a partnership between the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute and the Bermuda Government’s Department of Conservation Services.

Thanks to Phil Leon for forwarding the video.