''Mercedes I'' was a

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

built in 1952 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. She was long and measured 496 Gross register tons. She was originally named ''Jacob Rusch'', later being renamed ''Rosita Maria'', ''Rita Voge'', and finally ''Mercedes I'' in 1976. She was caught in a storm while at anchor off Palm Beach,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

on 23 November 1984, and was driven ashore where she crashed into the seawall front of the home of Palm Beach socialite, Mollie Wilmot, who served the 12

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n sailors caviar, finger sandwiches and freshly brewed coffee in her gazebo, offered martinis to journalists and photographers, and granted the stranded Venezuelans access to her swimming pool. The incident received national and international coverage. After being abandoned by her owners, she was salvaged by the Donjon Marine Company, who sold her for $29,000 to the

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

Environmental Quality Control Board. They scuttled her on 30 March 1985 with 350 pounds of

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, in order to create an

artificial reef An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote Marine biology#Reefs, marine life, it may be intended to control #Erosion prevention, erosio ...

used as a recreational dive site. She currently rests upright in .

References

Ships sunk as artificial reefs Maritime incidents in 1984 Maritime incidents in 1985 Ships built in Hamburg Shipwrecks of the Florida coast 1952 ships {{Florida-stub