Nantucket Shoals is an area of dangerously shallow water in theAtlantic Ocean that extends fromNantucket Island,Massachusetts, eastward for 23 miles (37 km) and southeastward for 40 miles (64 km); in places water depth can be as shallow as 3 feet (0.91 m).[1] Depth soundings are unpredictable due to the constant change caused by strong currents, which are rotary rather than reversing.[2] Theshoals lie just off of a majortransatlanticshipping lane. Numerous ships have been wrecked here, most recently and notably theoil tankerArgo Merchant in December 1976. Until 1983, the edge of the shoals was guarded by theNantucket Lightship.
Nantucket Shoals is made up of the following features:[3]
According to the 2010 edition of theUnited States Coast Pilot, theInternational Maritime Organization has established an "area to be avoided" for the Nantucket Shoals. Vessels transporting oil or hazardous materials and vessels of more than 1,000gross tons should avoid the area bounded by the points in the below table.[1]
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