Revision 8/29/2009 5:02 PM
The Markham is a 320-foot US Army Corps of Engineers dredge that was sunk in the Artificial Reef area AR-386 close to the Hyde dredge.
The Markham is 340 ft long ocean going hopper dredge. It spent most of it’s time working in the Great Lakes. It was the Cadillac of hopper dredges back in the 1960’s with many new innovations which included bow thrusters and an advanced pumpout system. Now the Markham sits 18 miles out of Masonboro Inlet in 85 ft of water. It was sunk by the NC Division of Marine Fisheries in 1994. Two days before the sinking it was realized the Markham was too large to be sunk upright as originally planned. It was decided that the Markham would have to be sunk on its side to allow enough clearance for ship traffic. Now it rests on its port side slowly sinking into the bedrock. The Markham is a very popular dive. It is a few hundred yards away from the Hyde which makes for a good combination of dives. Like the Hyde, during the summer months sand tiger sharks make this wreck their home. One of the highlights of this wreck is the massive prop on it’s stern.
http://www.wilmingtondiving.com/markham.shtml
Web site for videos of various wreck sites in the area-
http://www.olympusdiving.com/PhotoGallery/VideoGallery/tabid/115/Default.asp