SS Nicaragua

SS Nicaragua was a ship that ran aground on Padre Island off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico in 1912.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Padre Island was the site of a number of shipwrecks. Devil's Elbow, is a point of tidal convergence around milepost 50 from Malaquite Beach of the north island, wrecked many vessels. One of these was Nicaragua. This ship, bound from Port Arthur, Texas, for Tampico, Tamaulipas was wrecked on 16 October 1912. The stern, engine room section and masthead of the vessel remained visible off the island for many years, serving as a landmark for down-island travelers. Rumors have arisen about the gun running and illegal activities it might have performed, however there is no evidence of the ship's true mission that October evening.

The remaining structure of the ship can be seen at low tide.

The ship was built in 1891 in Bergen, Norway, and her plans show that she was 190 ft overall. Lloyd's of London [illegible] at 611 gross tons.

Carrying cotton and miscellaneous cargo, she left Tampico bound for Port Arthur. Five days later, on 16 October 1912, during a storm that sank vessels all over the Gulf of Mexico, Nicaragua went down on the shores of Padre Island, in that section of the coast known as the Devil's Elbow.