Proteus

Proteus was originally built in 1957 in Korneuburg, Germany, as a general cargo vessel measuring 217.5 feet (66.3 meters) in length. Her original owners were German, but she was sold in 1971 to Florida Panama Lines and operated under a Panamanian flag. She was abandoned in the Miami River in 1973, and was removed as part of the cleanup effort in the mid 1980s. When the owners refused to claim her, Proteus had her superstructure removed before she was towed out to deeper water east of Key Biscayne and deployed as an artificial reef on January 24, 1985. In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew broke the ship in two, with her bow pointing south and her stern facing northwest. The hull has largely collapsed, creating complex habitat along the sandy seafloor at a max depth of 71 feet (21.5 meters).