The wreck site of the Diamond Shoal Lightship LV 71 that was sunk by the German submarine U-140 on August 6, 1918 is now under federal control under an agreement signed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office.
Technically, even though the wreck of the lightship lies in 180 feet of water, the vessel is still owned by the United States Government and the government wants to document the wreck’s physical remains and nominate the site for the National Register of Historic Places. The government will also create an on-line website to better help divers interpret the wreck site.
Interestingly, this is being done at a time when the government is giving away all of its lighthouses and it disposed of all of its lightships years ago. The government has not indicated how much this project will cost, but it would seem like there could be a better way to spend the taxpayer’s money.
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2015 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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