SS Benwood in approximately to of water between Dixie Shoals (to the north) and French Reef (to the south) off of Key Largo, Florida. On April 10, 1942, the crew of the salvage tug "Willet" examined the wreck and determined that the keel of the "Benwood" was broken, and she was a total loss. However, her superstructure and cargo of phosphate rock appear to have been salvaged. Her stern section, once considered a hazard to navigation, seems to have been mostly obliterated by explosions of an unknown type. This salvaging on the ship over the years prompted John Pennekamp Coral Reef State
The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks was not successful, however, it eventually led to the formation of a nonprofit organization named after the fictional agency in his novels, the National Underwater and Marine Agency and dedicated to the discovery of famous shipwrecks around the world. In The Sea Hunters, Cussler documents the search for nine famous shipwrecks while also offering dramatized imaginings on the events that led up to the loss of the ship. To date, the group's most successful find is the discovery of the final resting place of the Confederate submarine Hunley, detailed in Part 6. The Hunley was later raised and is currently