Copenhagen

The SS Copenhagen is a 19th-century British cargo steamer lying broken up along the Pompano Drop Off reef off Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built by Priestman & Co. of Sunderland in 1898 and owned by Glasgow Ship Owners Co., she was 325 feet long with a 47-foot beam and was carrying 4,940 tons of coal from Philadelphia to Havana when she ran aground on the reef on May 26, 1900. Though her cargo was salvaged, the hull could not be recovered, and she remained partly visible above water until WWII naval pilots used her for target practice, sending her fully to the bottom. The Copenhagen was declared a Florida State Underwater Archaeological Preserve in 1994 and is one of 11 such preserves in the state.

The wreck now rests in 15 to 30 feet (roughly 5 to 9 metres) of water, broken into hundreds of pieces scattered across a rocky limestone ledge of large blocks divided by cracks and crevices. After grounding, the ship listed to port; the starboard hull collapsed onto the rocks while the port side slumped onto the deeper sand bottom. The lower hull remains articulated, particularly at the stern. Coal from the cargo still litters the bottom near the wreck, camouflaged by growth. Hard and soft corals, multicolored sponges, and seafans now colonise the steel hull plates, and much of the structure has effectively become part of the reef. Points of interest include the ship's large anchor, a State Underwater Archaeological Preserve plaque, and the pillow block that supported the propeller shaft.

The wreck supports a rich variety of marine life: large schools of bait fish are regularly seen being chased through the site, while juvenile reef fish and tropicals dart in and out of the twisted structure, which acts as a sheltered nursery. Moray eels occupy cracks in the reef and wreck, parrot fish are drawn to the propeller shaft pillow block, and sergeant majors defend territory inside the old boiler beds. Stingrays, lobsters, eels, turtles, and sharks are also associated with the site.