SS Thomas Heyward

SS Thomas Heyward was a Liberty ship built by Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company at Mobile, Alabama, laid down 21 February 1942, and launched 31 May 1942. It was named for Thomas Heyward, Jr. (28 July 1746 – 6 March 1809), a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of South Carolina.

It was leased to Waterman Steamship Company. The vessel was placed in the Reserve Fleet in 1949, but was reactivated in 1951 for duty during the Korean War.

After final retirement, the vessel was prepared for final disposal as an artificial reef in a Pascagoula, Mississippi salvage yard with the superstructure cut down to the first deck to meet U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specifications for artificial reef structures. It was sunk on 14 April 1977 off of Destin, Florida at 30.30627°N, -86.6037°W, four miles south of the Okaloosa Island pier just north of the Pensacola–Panama City shipping lane, in about 79 ft of water.