City of Richmond
Historic shipwreck · Off Georgetown, South Carolina, United States
About this site
Built in 1913 for the Chesapeake Steamship Company, City of Richmond carried passengers and freight on Chesapeake Bay. It later served the Old Bay Line. After retirement, it was sold for use as a floating hospitality venue in the Virgin Islands. Rough weather struck while the ship was under tow in 1964, and the crew abandoned it before it sank off Georgetown.
Today divers encounter the remains in roughly 35 to 65 feet of water, according to Express Watersports. The wooden upper decks collapsed, leaving sections of hull, machinery, and scattered structure on the bottom. The depth and visibility vary across the site and with conditions.
What divers may find
Grouper, snapper, triggerfish, and other marine life gather around the wreck. Earlier divers reported tableware and kitchen equipment associated with its planned conversion. Those are historical finds, not a promise that objects will be present on a dive.
Vessel identification: The Mariners’ Museum. Loss and earlier finds: National Underwater and Marine Agency article. Depth and marine life: Express Watersports dive-site listing.
Images and footage of the wreck
View Wendell Patton’s underwater photograph ↗ The source identifies it as an earlier view, before the superstructure collapsed.
Watch Express Watersports’ City of Richmond dive footage ↗ The recording date is unverified; it should not be treated as a live view of the wreck.