American Star

On 15th January 1994 off the Canary Islands there was a storm. The towing cables of an ocean liner did not hold and snapped. The attempt to tie the tow rope again failed and the American Star irons drove toward the coast of Fuerteventura. Four crew members who were still on the boat were rescued by a helicopter. The ship was on only the front part of the sandbank, but the entire rear end was hanging over the sea floor.

The strong waves of up to 10 meters high, triggered by the storm, now meant that the American Star broke into two parts. The stern section was pressed also onto the sandbank, and remained relatively stable. Several people lost their lives during the numerous attempts to climb the ship, due to inherent hazards in the wreck, and also because of dangerous currents.

The stern toppled within two years after the accident on the port side and was largely destroyed by environmental influences. Parts of it are still visible in the sand, where they were not looted by the many visitors who came to the wreck. On aerial and satellite photographs it can be seen in calm seas today very well. You can see the contours of the stern in the sand. On 6th July 1994, the ship was declared a total loss and left to nature. The insurance was paid out to the Chao Phraya Developement Transport Company. There were rumors that it was an insurance fraud, but there is no proof.

Deterioration of the wreck

The front section of the ship was, until the end of 2005, under the influence of environmental erosions which lasted for about 11 years. Until that time, the only signs of decay were along the water line and at the breaking point to the stern. Complete disintegration took place, caused by corrosion and fatigue of the material by the ever surging waves, especially during winter storms.

Aerial view of 14th December 2005 from the sea after the loss of the chimney and the collapse of the sun deck and the hull on the port side.

On the night of 3rd and 4th November 2005, the remaining front section inclined by 30 degrees to port. The reasons for this were due to the rupture of two stable pillars in the former engine room below the main stack and also the advanced destruction of the planking along the waterline on the port side of the wreck. Between the 12th November and 15th November, however, large parts of the wreckage burst into itself, including the main chimney, as visible in the aerial photograph of 14th December 2005.

It shows a rare perspective of the wreck, which shows the situation much more seriously than in most other photos. This is due mostly to the tilt of the waves in heavy weather, which prevails on the west coast frequently.

The ship stopped being subject to the forces of nature and has not changed position until the end of January 2006. Between January and February 2006, the remaining bow was a lot shorter, because the impacting waves inflicted much damage on the aft (rear) edge of the wreck. Also the damage to the port side grew with each passing day. The left bridge wing was completely demolished within a short time.

Toward the end of February, the bodies slid off at the fracture site of the wreck towards the sea side on the already unstable ship structure. Between March and April 2006 the bow continued to incline. Meanwhile, the upper deck of the vessel was lying at sea level. There was further destruction, the foremast was completely gone and the area around the stump of the chimney around the former front was washed away. The chimney hung “completely in the air” and remained until early August in that position.

The wreck on the 9th August 2007

In mid-August you could see the already well-advanced Undermining. The area below the bridge was pulled up also. You could see very well that the light bridge superstructures were tended to faster than they were sustained. Very rarely were the submerged parts of the rear of the vessel identified.

Between 6th and 11th September, delivery of the former front chimney pulled together with the substructure and superstructure of the thousands who were imprisoned due to the angle from the deck. The remnants of the chimney was most at risk because of its location, as it was situated directly above the water surface.

The upper deck, including bridge, were now in a vertical position to the surface, providing a direct attack on the impacting waves and was further eroded. In late November of 2006, more than a year after the front section had lost its stable position, most of the superstructure of the wreck was gone.

Only the deck itself was still there in early December. While the port side had been removed already to the forward mast, the starboard side of the trunk was still in relatively good condition.

Wreck fragments in September 2008

In the months following the collapse of the starboard outer wall further damage continued. In February 2007 the ship was completely in the water. Since the end of March 2007, the wreck has disappeared almost completely, we can see only small parts of the ship now. From the beginning of November 2007 there rose only two parts of the now broken forecastle from the water.

A mast held out for two weeks on the dilapidated deck. The violent waves then made sure that even this disappeared. On 22nd November 2007 only fragments of the former liner are recognizable just above the water surface. The SS America is now part of history. Even now, the wreck is changing from year to year. So the sight in September 2008 is different from that in 2007.