Iristo/aristo

About this dive site

This dive site is the wreck of the Iristo, a steam freighter built in 1918 in Lorain, Ohio. Originally named Lake Jessup, it was sold several times under different names including War Briar and Ekstrand. In 1935, a Norwegian company renamed it the Iristo (locally also known as Aristo, possibly due to a New York Times article misspelling). The vessel was carrying a cargo of 200 barrels of gasoline, a fire engine, and a steam roller when it sank in March 1937 en route from Newfoundland to Bermuda. Captain Christian Stephensen made a navigational error, mistaking the wrecked Cristobal Colon for a moving ship and altering course to follow it. This led the Iristo to collide with a submerged reef structure near North Rock. The wreck lies on a reef.