• Launch: August 1949, Werfde Noord N.V. (North Shipyard) of Alblasserdam, Netherlands as a refrigerated freighter.

• 1962 the mid-ship superstructure was removed and its hull was lengthened to 280.8 feet.

Name History:

• Domburgh (1949)

• Forwarder (1975)

• Nuevo Rio (1982)

• Doc DeMilly (Divesite)

Divesite:

The Nuevo Rio was renamed the Doc DeMilly after beloved veterinarian John DeMilly Jr., who was murdered in October 1985. Doc DeMilly was sunk a half‐mile east of Pacific Reef. The anchored vessel was subjected to numerous concrete-filled bombs dropped by US. Air Force F-4D Phantoms from the 93rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of Homestead Air Force Base, as well as 200 pounds of explosives rigged by the Dade County Metro Bomb Squad. As the explosive charges were detonated, the Air Force fighters dropped their cargo, with over two-thirds of the practice bombs missing their mark. The smoking Doc eventually sank stern first, her bow rising high out of the water before slipping under the waves. The freighter came to rest upright and intact in 145 feet of water.

After sinking and being hit by several storms, now the structure is in bad shape.  Both the bow and the stern’s superstructure are torn and there are very little penetration options.  Usually a site with very strong currents, it is home to some of the most proliferous marine life in south Florida.