SS Maine

The SS Maine was a British steam merchant ship torpedoed by U-boat UB-31 on 23 March 1917 about 9 nautical miles east of Bolt Head, off Salcombe in south Devon. The 122-metre wreck lies on the sandy seabed at 18 to 24 metres on its starboard side, with the bow notably intact and the stern cut open by torpedo damage. The wreck preserves the propeller shaft, deck winches, steam engine and parts of the bridge superstructure. The hull is densely covered with plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sponges, hydroids and feather stars. Visibility on a good day reaches 6 to 12 metres in summer, and water temperatures vary between 9 and 17 degrees Celsius. Resident species include ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, pollack, bib, conger eels in the broken plates, edible crabs, spider crabs and lobsters. Currents are moderate, and the site is dived from Salcombe and Dartmouth charter boats around slack water. The Maine is a popular intermediate wreck dive on the South Devon coast.