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  Oil Wreck  

The Oil Wreck is an unidentified tanker that was carrying crude oil back in WWII. She was torpedoed and sank upside down in about 150 feet of water off the coast of Ft. Myers, FL. The forward cargo area is pretty barren but the massive boilers and expansion steam engine in the stern are very interesting. Many Jewfish and Sea Turtles make the Oil Wreck their home. To this day, oil still percolates up to the surface forming a slick on a calm day.

All Images ©Andrew Donn 1998-2003. All Rights Reserved. All Images captured from Video. 

Andrew Donn's SCUBA Diving Web Site
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Nets

Nets

Several large fishing nets have become snagged on this wreck and were cut loose to drape across the superstructure.

Boiler

Boiler

This is one of the massive boilers that spilled out of the wreck when it struck the bottom and lays beside the wreck.

Angle Fish

Angelfish

A Gray Angelfish swims among the twisted wreckage.

Jew Fish

Jewfish

This massive Jewfish appeared out of the darkness to check us out on our dive. He is about 7 feet long!

Jew Fish

Jewfish2

At first he didn't seem too alarmed by our presence. He allowed me to get so close that his tail actually brushes the lens of my camera.

Jew Fish

Jewfish3

He gets a little territorial after his close encounter with the camera. He turned around and began pumping water through his gills stirring up the silt on the bottom. I decided that it would be wise to back off and go a different direction.

Banded Shrimp

Banded Shrimp

A Blue Tang takes his turn at this cleaning station. A Banded shrimp picks parasites off the fish.

Cowrie

Cowrie

While it is pretty common to find a Cowrie shell, this is a picture of what the actual animal looks like. This is the mantle of the animal and it is covered in finger-like projections. Find a picture of the shell in the Artifacts Section under Glass - Andrew.

Hog Fish

Hogfish

A hogfish hides behind some netting.

Arrow Crab

Arrow Crab

Here I gently coax an Arrow Crab off a piece of wreckage for a close up

Crank

Crankshaft

Probably the most interesting part of this wreck is the exposed engine. This is the crankshaft where one of the massive connecting rods connects to it.

Connecting Rod

Connecting Rod

This is a picture of one of the massive connecting rods.

Drive Shaft

Drive Shaft

Here the drive shaft leaves the back of the engine just before it penetrates the hull to drive the screw.

Gear

Gear

This is a drive gear located at the front of the engine. It was probably used to drive accessory equipment off the main engine.

Boiler

Boiler

This is one of three of the large boilers used to generate steam to drive the engine.

Hull

Hull

This is a picture from the interior of the wreck. This is the main bulkhead on the starboard side. To the left in this image is one of the main tanks.

AUE Check out more Oil Wreck info and pics on these great sites Seawolf Productions

 

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