SS Benwood Park to form a protection program in 1959 to prevent further damage to the historical wreckage. Today, the "Benwood" is a protected resource under the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which was formed in 1975. Since then, the "Benwood" site has played host to countless recreational dives, as it is an extremely popular night dive site. Since her sinking, the Benwood has become an artificial reef, providing the only high-profile reef in the immediate vicinity. She lies in 55 feet of sea water with hull plates found in the sand around the perimeter. SS Benwood The "Benwood" is a shipwreck
Abandoned Shipwrecks Act any parts, sediment, artifacts, etc., of the wreck. Abandoned Shipwrecks Act The Abandoned Shipwrecks Act is a piece of United States legislation passed into law in 1988 meant to protect historic shipwrecks from treasure hunters and salvagers by transferring the title to the wreck to the state whose waters it lies in. The Abandoned Shipwrecks Act (Pub. L. 100-298; ), also known as the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987, was passed into law due to severe damage to some 3,000 historic wrecks on the Great Lakes and other areas of the coast that had been salvaged, and in some cases