Northeastern is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in Diamond Shoals, NC. The maximum depth is 36-40ft/11-12m. The average visibility is 21-25ft/6-8m.
2157 Gross Tons
254 feet Length, 42 feet Beam, 23 feet Deep
Owner: Northwestern Steam Ship Company
Builder: Chicago Ship Building Company, Chicago, Illinois
Depth 45 feet
A small ship by today’s standards, the NORTHEASTERN was a good sized vessel for her day being 242 feet in length, 42.2 beam and 23.2 in depth and the vessel was of American registry with a home port of Fairport. She was one of four identical vessels constructed in 1901 for the Northwestern S.S. Company. The NORTHEASTERN and her sister vessels (NORTHTOWN, NORTHMAN, and NORTHWESTERN) were all built the same year, 1901, by the Chicago Shipbuilding Company, in Chicago, Ill. They had all been originally built as general cargo carriers but converted to bulk oil tankers with a carrying capacity of 3,500 tons or 23,098 barrels of oil. After the demise of the Northeastern the three remaining sister vessels were all purchased by the Texas Company (Texaco) in June of 1905 for $450,000. The NORTHMAN was sold in 1940, NORTHTOWN went to scrap in 1950, and the NORTHWESTERN burned up at Port Neches in February of 1920. Only the NORTHEASTERN remains today.
Constructed of steel, with her machinery aft, the NORTHEASTERN had one deck plus a "spar deck" and was equipped with electric lights. Her power came from a three cylinder (triple expansion) steam engine with cylinders of 20", 33", and 54" in diameter and a stroke of 40", which produced 1,150 HP to turn her single screw.
The NORTHEASTERN was enroute to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Port Arther, Texas, with a cargo of oil when she wrecked upon the Diamond Shoals on December 30, 1904, just three years after being built. A gale had blown the ship off course and the visibility very poor due to a thick fog. At 11PM she grounded on the outer Diamond Shoals where tremendous waves beat the ship relentlessly. The situation was perilous for the 22 crewmembers on board the ship and they fired signal rockets until early in the morning hours when their pleas were answered by signal rockets from the shore.
Unfortunately, it was far to rough for rescuers to row out to the stranded ship and several attempts to do so failed. Not until the next day did the winds moderate enough to allow rescuers from the Cape Hatteras and Creeds Hill lifesaving stations to row out to the ship. They found her awash except for a section of the stern, where all of the survivors had gathered. The two surfboats made the trip through breakers to rescue the crew, the Hatteras boat taking on 10 men, the Creeds Hill boat taking the remaining 12. Later, the rescued crew praised the bravery of the surf men in a letter to the Life Saving Service.
Diving the Northeastern The wreck lays on the Diamond Shoals (40’ deep) in an upright position with the ships outline clearly defined. The bow is virtually intact with spaces in the forepeak providing penetration to decks below the chain locker. The amidships tank sections have collapsed into an interesting collection of plates and piping, leading to the structure which once supported the wooden pilothouse placed amidships (which is now buried in the sand along the port side of the wreck). The strain of years of winter storms and hurricanes has broken the hull into two parts, causing a fracture amidships completely across the hull. Swimming aft, a diver will then encounter the boilers, still flanked by the ship’s sidewalls and companionways - the starboard one you can still swim through. The triple expansion engine is behind the boilers in the very aft of the vessel. A confusion of plating and beams with many spaces between and below them is contained within the intact stern section. This is the remains of the stern deck house, which contained crews’ quarters and the galley as evidenced by the artifacts located there, broken pottery and a large "claw foot" iron bathtub.
This vessel has been positively identified by diver Steve Lange of Hatteras through the recovery of the brass lettering from her fantail spelling out the name NORTHEASTERN, and of course the general layout and size of the machinery and vessel. The iron "battle covers" of the portholes which have been recovered from this wreck are also cast with "Chicago Shipbuilding Company, Chicago". The winter storms move the sand around a good bit on this wreck and sections of plating and machinery are always being hidden or uncovered. On some dives the entire fantail and propeller are visible, then later the sand will completely cover the stern and spill into the interior of the wreck. It is the changeable nature of the shifting sands of the Diamond Shoals that both first trapped this ship and now sometimes cover and preserve her for future diving.
Due to her relatively small size and the intact nature of her hull, the NORTHEASTERN is easy to navigate. The shallow depth of just 40 feet allows divers to tour the entire shipwreck in one long dive. It is a great dive in most conditions but like all the wrecks on the Diamond Shoals and the
HESPERIDES, which is nearby, can be plagued with surge when the sea kicks up.
http://www.divehatteras.com/north.html
Web site for videos of various wreck sites in the area-
http://www.olympusdiving.com/PhotoGallery/VideoGallery/tabid/115/Default.aspx