Wreck of the SULOIDE


SHIP NOTES: (Sources: Gentile)
Name: SULOIDE (former names: Amassia, 1921-37; Maceio, 1937-41	Type: Freighter
Built: 1920 by Neptun Werft A.G., Rostock, Germany	Owner: Lloyd Brasileiro, Companmia de Navegacao, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Size (ft.): 338" x 48" x 23"	Tonnage: 3,235 gross
Propulsion: Coal-fired triple expansion steam;
Date Sunk: 3/26/1943	Cause: Collided with the sunken tanker Ario
Location: Cape Lookout, NC	GPS: 34°32'41.24"N / 76°53'41.96"W


SS Suloide as the Amassia (36)

Ad from owner of the Suloide
SHIP HISTORY; (Gentile, Moore)
The SS Suloide was sailing from Trinidad to New York with a load of manganese ore. By 1943, the german u-boat threat had diminished off the US east coast and the Suloide approached Cape Lookout, NC, alone and unarmed. She hit the mostly submerged wreck of the tanker Ario which had been sunk a year earlier by the U-124. The large gash in her hull allowed water to quickly flood the forepeak and hold #1. The Suloide drifted and finally sunk about one mile from the wreck of the Ario. There were no losses suffered during the incident. The Suloide sinking underlined wartime concerns about the threat to navigation presented by the ships sunk previously by u-boats. The Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant (WPC-154) was dispatched to break the wreck of the Ario down to a level safe for clearing by passing ships - least depth at mean low water. Once finished with the Ario, the Vigilant did the same to the Suloide. This wreck used to be know as the WR-13 because of the buoy that marked its location.


DIVING NOTES:
Diving Depths: 65 ft.
Current: None to Slight
Visibility: Typical inshore viz of 20-40 ft
Summer Temperature: mid to high 70s to 80
Points of Interest: Boilers, steering quadrant, rudder, shaft tunnerl and LOTS of tangled metal
Fish/Animal Life: Generally small inshore fish as the large groupers, etc. have either grown very smart over the years or have become dinner. Spadefish, grunts, black sea bass, stingrays, etc. Lots of hard corals grow on the wreck
Description: The Suloide is a small wreck, especially compared to its "sister" inshore wreck, the Ario. It sits upright on its keel and contiguous. Because of its destruction during the war, the wreck site has little structure left and, except for its two boilers, has little in the way of recognizable ship "parts". It is mostly a jumble of twisted beams and collapsed plates. It can be confusing to navigate in low viz, but its small size and longish bottom times allowed by its relatively shallow depths, one can usually "hunt the edge" and manage to circumnavigate the wreck in a dive.


PHOTOS:

Two boilers on the Suloide

Opening and remains of the shaft alley

Remains of the rudder	Lots of twisted hiding places for marine life

Typical twisted debris	Sting ray glides over the wreck

Typical wreck topology on the Suloide