Shipwrecks · Santiago de Cuba
USS Merrimac (1894)
USS Merrimac (1894) is a shipwreck at 19°58′37″N 75°52′18″W in Santiago de Cuba province. USS Merrimac, sometimes incorrectly spelt Merrimack, was a cargo steamship that was built in 1894 in England as Solveig for Norwegian owners, and renamed Merrimac when a US shipowner acquired her in 1897.
USS Merrimac (1894): coast and water
880 m at 36°: Punta Gaspar (point); 900 m at 268°: Punta Júcaro (point); 1000 m at 192°: Bajo Diamante (reef); 1120 m at 49°: Bahía Níspero (cove); 1250 m at 156°: Punta Socapa (point); 1250 m at 156°: Punta Soldados (point); 1410 m at 300°: Ensenada Victorina (cove); 1410 m at 300°: Ensenada Don Tomás (cove); 1410 m at 300°: Punta Colón (point); 1780 m at 297°: Ensenada Cabañitas (cove); 2350 m at 333°: Bahía Cajuma (cove); 2620 m at 11°: Punta Chivos (point); 2620 m at 11°: Punta Yarey (point); 3760 m at 35°: Punta Cocos (point).
USS Merrimac (1894): islands
410 m at 274°: Cayo Granma (island); 2670 m at 19°: Cayo Ratones (island); 4450 m at 7°: Cayo Paradas (island); 5350 m at 20°: Caimanes (island).
USS Merrimac (1894): inland
560 m at 18°: Medimarg (settlement); 990 m at 287°: Jucarito (settlement); 1040 m at 93°: Blanco (hamlet); 2250 m at 79°: Nuevo Santiago (settlement); 2370 m at 73°: Reparto Punta Gorda (district); 2890 m at 83°: Antonio Maceo (settlement).
USS Merrimac (1894): distances
3420 m at 41°: Playa los Coquitos; 4150 m at 41°: Reparto Altamira; 4390 m at 107°: Playa de Aguadores; 3790 m at 94°: Antonio Maceo International Airport ; 790 m at 167°: Port of Santiago de Cuba (port); 670 m at 280°: Marina Marlin Santiago de Cuba (marina).
Protected: 830 m at 167°: Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca; 11110 m at 98°: Biosfera ecológica Siboney-Juticí; 32840 m at 87°: Reserva de Biosfera Baconao.
USS Merrimac (1894): close by
70 m at 265°: USS Merrimac (reef); 350 m at 176°: Punto de pesca (fishing); 410 m at 274°: Cayo Granma (cay); 800 m at 227°: Batería Alta de La Socapa (site); 1010 m at 192°: Bajo Diamante (reef); 2520 m at 11°: Muelle de la Refinería (fishing); 2680 m at 19°: Cayo Ratones (cay); 3090 m at 31°: Embarcadero (fishing); 4450 m at 7°: Cayo Paradas (cay); 4710 m at 35°: Muelle de Granos (fishing); 5360 m at 20°: Caimanes (cay); 6470 m at 36°: Puerto Guillermón Moncada (fishing).
USS Merrimac (1894): on and around
Within 15 km: 280 guest houses & hostels, 120 schools, 94 historic & heritage, 68 factories & works, 58 stores & supermarkets, 57 clinics & polyclinics, 51 attractions, 44 theatres & arts, 39 places of worship, 28 urban parks & plazas.
180 m at 115°: Ciudamar (stations & terminals); 320 m at 261°: Casa de Cultura "Aurora Ochoa" (theatres & arts); 360 m at 223°: La Socapa (stations & terminals); 360 m at 252°: El Cayo (stations & terminals); 370 m at 140°: Casa de Visita (guest houses & hostels); 620 m at 224°: Bateria Alta de la Socapa (trails & viewpoints); 690 m at 157°: Murallas defensivas (historic & heritage); 750 m at 351°: Marina Marlin (marinas); 760 m at 37°: Paladar de César El Capitán (cuban cuisine & lechón); 800 m at 227°: Batería Alta de La Socapa (historic & heritage); 800 m at 28°: Adria (guest houses & hostels); 820 m at 358°: Monumento a Raúl López Cañete (historic & heritage); 920 m at 1°: Sol y Mar (guest houses & hostels).
USS Merrimac (1894): marine life records
222 records of 93 species within 8 km, 1884 to 2025: 84 seabirds and shorebirds, 39 crustaceans, 32 molluscs, 27 echinoderms, 19 corals, 11 fish, 5 marine mammals, 3 other, 2 sponges. That is 110.4 records per 100 km².
Most recorded: Pelecanus occidentalis, 18 (seabirds and shorebirds); Cardisoma guanhumi, 11 (crustaceans); Coenobita clypeatus, 9 (crustaceans); Actitis macularius, 6 (seabirds and shorebirds); Menippe mercenaria, 6 (crustaceans); Himantopus mexicanus, 6 (seabirds and shorebirds); Egretta tricolor, 6 (seabirds and shorebirds); Chrysogorgia thyrsiformis, 5 (corals); Rynchops niger, 4 (seabirds and shorebirds); Asteroschema oligactes, 4 (echinoderms); Sterna maxima, 4 (seabirds and shorebirds); Ophiomusa valida, 4 (echinoderms).
Months with records, marine mammals: Jan 1, Feb 2, May 1, Sep 1; seabirds and shorebirds: Feb 2, Mar 1, Jul 1.
Records show where people have surveyed, not how many animals there are.
USS Merrimac (1894): notes
The position is a published coordinate and can be approximate.
Getting to USS Merrimac (1894)
- Navigation: the lighthouse Faro del Morro de Santiago de Cuba stands about 1.1 km away.
Sources and data
Name and position: Wikipedia (coordinates) (record). Distances are straight-line measurements from these coordinates. Satellite imagery: Esri, Maxar. Named places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Positions from public gazetteers can be approximate, so confirm a location with a local operator before you travel. For a wreck this is the sinking or wreck site recorded in Wikidata or Wikipedia; the hull may since have been raised, moved or broken up.