Tugboat (Tugboat Beach) — Westpunt

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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Westpunt location page.

Overview

A small steel tugboat sunk decades ago in the sheltered shallows of Caracas Bay, now crusted with orange tube sponges and hard coral and circled by sergeant majors, parrotfish, and yellowtail snapper. The wreck sits upright in about 5 m of water, shallow enough to snorkel, while the coral-covered reef slope behind it drops past 30 m. Seahorses, frogfish, octopus, and scorpionfish tuck into the rocks and pilings. Calm, light current, and reachable from the beach, it is one of Curaçao's most photographed dives.

Briefing note

Within the Curaçao National Marine Park (Caracas Bay / Tugboat Beach). Easy shore or snorkel access in calm, shallow water; the reef slope just past the wreck drops quickly, so watch depth and air. Resident fish are habituated to divers. Do not touch or stand on the wreck or coral, and keep clear of moored boats and the boat channel on the surface.

What you'll see

6 species curated

Sergeant major
year-round
Stoplight parrotfish
year-round
Yellowtail snapper
year-round
Longsnout seahorse
rare
Caribbean reef octopus
rare
Spotted scorpionfish
year-round

Conditions

Month	Water	Visibility	Current
Jan	26–27 °C	15–25 m	mild
Feb	26–26 °C	15–25 m	mild
Mar	26–26 °C	15–25 m	mild
Apr	26–27 °C	15–25 m	mild
May	27–28 °C	15–25 m	none
Jun	28–28 °C	15–25 m	none
Jul	28–29 °C	15–25 m	none
Aug	28–29 °C	15–25 m	none
Sep	29–29 °C	15–25 m	none
Oct	28–29 °C	15–25 m	none
Nov	27–28 °C	15–25 m	mild
Dec	27–27 °C	15–25 m	mild

Season calendar

Divable year-round — no distinct peak season

Gear for this site

Beyond the basic kit

Dive torch — Light up the wreck's interior and crevices to find seahorses, octopus, and scorpionfish.

Next step

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