The Kittiwake - One Year After Its Sinking

It's hard to believe that it’s been just over 12 months since we first reported on the sinking of the USS Kittiwake. Grand Cayman celebrated the one-year anniversary of the scuttling of the 251-foot-long former submarine rescue vessel on January 5, 2012, and the island did it in style. 

The Kittiwake rests upright in about 60 feet of water on a flat sandy bottom just off the Sand Chute dive site, off Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach. The 47-foot-tall ship tops out at just 15 feet from the surface, creating an ideal dive spot for both divers and snorkelers.

The ship’s five decks have been meticulously prepped and opened to allow easy and safe exploration of sections like the diving locker, complete with the shackles, hooks and chains once used to move subs, and the engine room, which can be accessed through the ship’s towering smoke stack.

Want more? Watch the video or view the photo gallery of the Kittiwake’s sinking.