Hunting New England Shipwrecks

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Typical freight bark of the mid 19th Century (Mark Munro collection)

Shipwreck Data
Vessel Name	Trajan
Other Names
Vessel Type	Bark (freighter)
Owner
Length / Beam / Draft (feet)	125' / 29' /
Tonnage
Hull Construction	Wood
Propulsion	Sails (Bark Rigged)
Cargo	Lime - packed in wood barrels
Built	1856 at Rockland, ME (H. Merriam, shipbuilder)
Date of Loss	August 17, 1867
Reason for Loss	Scuttled after lime cargo caught fire
Fatalities	None
Location	Newport Harbor (RI) - off west side of Goat Island
Coordinates (Lat/Lon)
Coordinates (Loran C)
Water Depth (feet)	30'
Typical Visibility (feet)
Wreck Condition	Low-profile lime concretion with some exposed timbers. Some of the lime is still in the form of its original wood barrel containers.
Diving Considerations
Other Information	Lime was a dangerous cargo. If it got wet, a chemical reaction created heat and sometimes caused the vessel to catch fire. That was what happened to the Trajan. For more information on the Trajan, see Mark Munro's excellent site http://soundunderwatersurvey.com/sus/shipwrecks.htm