Name Merida Completed 1906 Fate Sank 12 May 1911 Length 122 m Builder William Cramp & Sons | Yard number Hull 332 In service 1906 Launched 26 January 1906 Draft 5.18 m | |
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Owner Ward Line (New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company) | ||
SS Merida was a Ward Line steamer that was struck in a dense fog by the steamer SS Admiral Farragut 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. 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). In 1924, the wreck was rediscovered. The treasure-hunting organization Gulfstream Ventures secured legal control over the wreck site in 2013.