The Runic is the largest and most visible of the many wrecks on Middleton Reef. According to the shipwreck record compiled for Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, it was a 13,500-ton steel motor vessel that went aground on the reef in 1961. The ship later burned, and the record describes it as 'charred with fire... now a broken relic, stripped of her valuable fittings', and dangerous to explore because of its deterioration.

For decades the Runic has been the landmark of Middleton Reef, a rust-red hulk visible from far off on an otherwise featureless reef flat. Before it arrived, the British barque Annasona (1907) served the same role. The wreck sits on or near the reef top, so most of what a visitor sees is above water or in the shallows, with debris scattered around the hull where the reef's fish and corals have colonised it.

Anyone visiting should treat the hulk as unsafe to enter and view it from outside; a stranded steel ship that has burned and been battered by Tasman Sea swell for more than 60 years can shed plates and beams without warning. The 500 m exclusion zone around suspected unexploded ordnance at Middleton Reef must also be checked – it relates to wartime bombing practice on the reef.

The Runic is protected as part of the Commonwealth Lord Howe Marine Park and under underwater cultural heritage law; nothing may be removed. Access is by expedition vessel only, in settled weather. The vessel type is recorded only as a steel motor vessel; its owners and voyage are not given in the sources used.

Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs are remote, uninhabited coral reefs in the Tasman Sea, about 150 km (Elizabeth) and 230 km (Middleton) north of Lord Howe Island and 555–600 km off the NSW coast. There are no facilities, moorings or regular dive trips. Access is by private ocean-going yacht, research vessel or occasional expedition charter departing Lord Howe or the NSW coast, typically a one- to two-day passage each way.

Anchoring is possible in the lagoon in suitable weather; Elizabeth has a north-east entrance historically recorded with about 7 fathoms over the bar at low tide.

The reefs are fully exposed to the open Tasman Sea. Passage and diving require a settled window of light winds and small swell; any sizeable south-east trade wind swell or a southerly change makes the outer reef undiveable and the lagoon anchorage uncomfortable. Late summer and autumn (February–May) are the likeliest months for calm windows; winter brings fronts and big seas.

Tropical cyclones and ex-tropical lows can track through between December and April. Visibility on the outer reef is often 30 m or more.

View from outside only. Snorkel or dive the scattered debris in the shallows around the hulk in calm conditions, keeping clear of unstable structure, and check the ordnance exclusion zone before approaching.

No penetration – structure unstable. Mostly a reef-top/shallow wreck.

No regular operator – private ocean-going yachts, research vessels and occasional expedition charters only.