This 165 foot long, 254 ton freighter was built in Pennsylvania in 1943. Originally a U.S. Navy buoy tender, she broke down  while transporting a cargo of second hand gifts to poor families in the Cape Verde Islands. She  was later abandoned in Bermuda because she had become too costly to repair. The government originally tried to sell the vessel to an American, but after he inspected the rusting ship, he promptly asked for the return of his $10,000 deposit. After some time, the government donated the rusting vessel to the Bermuda Divers Association (BDA).

After being stripped and cleaned at Dockyard, she was scuttled on May 15, 1984, as a dive site one mile off shore by the Bermuda Divers Association (BDA). The Hermes has become one of the most popular wreck dives on the south side of the island. Unlike many wrecks lost to Bermuda’s treacherous barrier reefs that are scattered across the sea bed, the Hermes is the classic story book shipwreck. She remains intact, upright and magnificently photogenic. She sits in 75 to 80 feet of water, and divers can explore her pilot house, galley, engine room and cargo hold. All of her hatches were removed prior to the ship’s sinking to ensure safe wreck penetration.