WIT Shoal ex LST 467

We had dived the wreck of the (West Indies Trading Company) WIT Shoal II for many years, we knew she was an inter island freighter plying her trade around the Caribbean before being wrecked in Krum Bay, South St Thomas, on 6th November 1984 during Tropical Storm Klaus. But something did not ring true, she looked like a war ship with gun emplacements still visible on her bridge. she was also sitting bolt upright on the ocean floor, which was due to the fact that she had a flat bottom. These were most unusual characteristics for an inter-island freighter.
Upon further investigation we were informed that she had originally been an LST (Landing Ship Tank). What on earth is a landing Ship Tank we wondered. This was the start of the long investigation that was to bring two second world war US Navy veterans back to St Thomas to visit their old war time ship that was in fact a highly decorated war hero
Now she sits upright on the ocean floor at 90ft but her superstructure is only 35ft from the surface.
There are five levels of deck to explore, from the pilothouse down to the bottom of the hold, with many routes in and out making it easy and safe. The whole wreck is covered in Tubastrea (Orange Cup Coral) and she is one of the best dives in the Caribbean. Check out Blue Island Divers for trips to this site