Revisiting The Newly Sunken Ex USS Kittiwake

Wreck Diving Grand Cayman

Over the past 5 years we’ve watched the Ex Uss Kittiwake transform from a silvery mass of metal into a living reef, home to many creatures both large and small.  Five years in sun and salt water have given this incredible wreck the patina of an old sunken ship, slowly becoming part of the surrounding area. Smooth surfaces are replaced with iron oxide creating texture, the perfect base for new sponge and coral growth.

This rusty hulk is visited by thousands of divers each year.  The reddish brown color of the ship has become the norm for many divers.  In the video below we revisit the newly scuttled ship, less than one month after she slipped beneath the cobalt blue waters of Grand Cayman’s West Bay. More of a ship than ship wreck at this point, she was immediately taken over by a school of circling Horse Eye Jacks, a sign of things to come.

Happy Diving!

Kittiwake Grand Cayman 2011 from iDive Global on Vimeo.