USS Kittiwake — Stingray City

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

Overview

The ex-USS Kittiwake, a 76 m Chanticleer-class submarine rescue ship commissioned in 1946, was scuttled off the northern end of Seven Mile Beach in January 2011 as an artificial reef. Inside a dedicated marine park it offers five decks of penetration — recompression chambers, the mess hall, galley and wheelhouse — laced with large swim-throughs. Since Tropical Storm Nate in 2017 the hull has listed to port, its shallowest deck now around 10 m and the sand-set keel near 20 m. Great barracuda, green morays, Nassau grouper, spotted eagle rays and green turtles work the coral- and sponge-encrusted superstructure. Clear, near-currentless water keeps it among the Caribbean's most-dived wrecks.

Briefing note

Lies within the Kittiwake Marine Park: touching or removing anything is prohibited and an access tag/fee is required. Since Tropical Storm Nate (October 2017) the wreck has listed onto its port side, deepening the shallowest decks to roughly 10 m. Multi-deck penetration is possible with a wreck-trained guide — large cut openings keep it relatively benign, but silt-out and overhead hazards apply.

What you'll see

7 species curated

Great barracuda
year-round
Green moray eel
year-round
Nassau grouper
year-round
Spotted eagle ray
year-round
Green sea turtle
year-round
Atlantic tarpon
seasonal
Peak: Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Goliath grouper
rare

Conditions

Month	Water	Visibility	Current
Jan	26–27 °C	25–35 m	none
Feb	26–27 °C	25–35 m	none
Mar	26–27 °C	25–35 m	none
Apr	27–28 °C	25–35 m	none
May	28–29 °C	20–30 m	none
Jun	28–30 °C	20–30 m	mild
Jul	29–30 °C	20–30 m	mild
Aug	29–30 °C	18–28 m	mild
Sep	29–30 °C	18–28 m	mild
Oct	28–29 °C	18–28 m	mild
Nov	27–28 °C	20–30 m	none
Dec	27–28 °C	25–35 m	none

Season calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Peak season highlighted · current month outlined

Gear for this site

Beyond the basic kit

Primary dive light — Interior decks and the lower engine spaces are dark and silty once you leave the daylight zone.
Dive computer — Repeated up-and-down through the multi-deck structure between 10 and 20 m builds bottom time.

Next step

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