Chien Tong

The Chien Tong is a Taiwanese cargo freighter that ran aground on Statia's volcanic reef in 1997 and was subsequently broken apart by storms, with sections now scattered across a sloping reef from 12 to 28 metres depth on the island's western coast. The broken nature of the wreck makes it more of a reef dive than a traditional penetration dive, with hull plates and machinery parts providing artificial substrate now thoroughly encrusted in coral and sponge. Schools of creole wrasse swirl over the debris field and the proximity of the natural reef means the site offers both wreck and coral diving within a single dive. Blacktip reef sharks patrol the reef edge adjacent to the wreck sections.