It is one of the Caribbean’s best-known and beloved wrecks — the Kittiwake. On January 5, 2011, the 251-foot-long ship was sunk in 60 feet of water near the Sand Chute dive site, close to Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach. Since then, tens of thousands of divers and snorkelers have visited the famous tourist attraction. Launched on July 10, 1945, the former U.S. Navy vessel USS Kittiwake ran countless rescue missions for 54 years until she was decommissioned in 1994.

Kittiwake was a Chanticleer-class submarine rescue vessel. In 1986, during one of her most famous missions, the Kittiwake recovered the black box from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

In late January, wave action from a storm damaged the 47-foot-tall ship. Volunteer scuba divers from Divetech cleared debris from the wreck, according to Divetech's managing partner, Jo Mikutowicz.

Reached by email, Mikutowicz said that after the Cayman Islands Tourism Authority alerted her to the damage, volunteers from Divetech used lift bags to remove the broken panels. “It took about five hours to remove all the broken pieces,” Mikutowicz said.

“The roof has gone, the walls have gone and the panels were strewn all over the place,” she said.

Divetech removed eight large panels; seven were loaded onto Divetech’s boat, but one was too large and had to be towed to shore.

Mikutowicz emphasized that except for the wheelhouse damage, the Kittiwake is sound and ready for divers to visit.

“The wheel is still there — you can still dive down and pretend to drive the boat,” Mikutowicz told Sport Diver, joking, “It’s like a convertible now.”

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