Charted as NORTH EASTERN VICTORY, 'entire wreck' in the Marine zone.
Vessel structure:
Lies in position 51°12.40N, 001°31.38E at a depth of 1.2m in a general depth of 5m.
Sonar dimensions: 84 x 13 x 4.6m. Orientation: 110°. Scour depth: 3m. Scour length: 30m. Scour orientation: 45°.
'Two main pieces. Remainder probably buried.' She is 'surrounded by scattered debris.'
'In 1976 only three masts stool and by 1991 there were only two. Today those are still visible from shore. She is in
two... and only about a third of her shows above the sand. Her deck seems to be shearing away all round and [could]
collapse [suddenly].'
Documentary evidence:
'This 7176 ton former Victory type Liberty Ship ran aground at speed in thick fog while coming from New Orleans to
Antwerp with general cargo on December 24th 1946. When the lifeboat reached her she had already broken her back
and the engine room was flooded. The crew of 36 were taken off but the Master and six officers stayed aboard. At
dawn on Christmas Day the lifeboat was standing by again and as the ship was listing and clearly breaking up, the
Master and his officers wisely decided to spend the rest of Christmas ashore.'
'This vessel was proceeding up the English Channel in fog, carrying 4,000 tons of flour and rice, and 10,000 cased of
grapefruit, her captain hoping to be able to spend Christmas day in Antwerp but unfortunately she ran onto the
Goodwin Sands while steaming at 16 knots, very close to the LURAY VICTORY. Hard aground and with a ridge of
sand amidships, her radio aerials were carried away and she was unable to call for assistance. She was finally sighted
by the crew if the south Goodwin Lightship, but shortly after broke in two just forward of the bridge and the wreck
was abandoned as gales caused her to settle deeper into the sand. As with the other US ships lost on this part of the
Goodwins around the same time, the basic cause was a directive issued in January 1946 by an Administrator for Ship
Operations. This stated that the employment of pilots around the Thames Estuary was disapproved. US charts often
neglected to show the Goodwins as a navigational hazard, and omitted to show the Goodwin lightships.'
Built: 1945
Builder: Permanente Metals Corporation
Where built: Richmond, California
Ship design: VC2-S-AP1
LBD: 138.7 x 18.9 x 8.5m ; Source 3 gives the draught of the vessel as 11.58m.
Tonnage: 7176 ; 7612 grt
Propulsion: Screw-driven steam engine
HP: 6000
Boilers: 2
Speed: 15.5 knots
Crew: 42
Armament: 5 inch (127mm) stern gun, bow mounted 3 inch (76mm) Anti Aircraft gun, 8 x 20mm Anti Aircraft cannon.

Ownership: US Shipping Corporation at the time of loss, though it is not known when she was acquired from her
previous owner, the US Government (given by source WERE as the War Shipping Administration) for whom she had
served as Libery ship.
Source 6 shows a photograph of this type of vessel in service, and one of the NORTH EASTERN VICTORY herself,
broken and sinking on the Goodwin Sands.
She is charted as NORTH EASTERN VICTORY by the UK Hydrographic Office , but listed in most other
sources as NORTHEASTERN VICTORY.