Login
SatBench Logo

Exploring Weather, Waves, and Weird Projects

List of wreck diving sites

Last updated: 2025-08-08 20:17:32

List of wreck diving sites
Wreck of the Zenobia.

List of shipwreck sites which are popular amongst scuba divers for wreck diving, arranged by geographical distribution.

North Atlantic

Ireland

United Kingdom

  • HMS A1 – The Royal Navy's first British-designed submarine
  • HMS A3 – A-class submarine of the Royal Navy
  • Abessinia – German ship wrecked at the Farne Islands in 1921. Now a dive site
  • Aeolian Sky – Greek registered freighter sunk off Dorset after a collision
  • SS Ajax – Cargo steamship that was built in Germany in 1923
  • Albert C. Field – Canadian cargo ship, sunk off the Needles during World War II
  • SS Ben Doran – Steam fishing trawler that operated out of Aberdeen
  • SS Binnendijk – Dutch cargo steamship sunk by a mine off Portland Bill in the English Channel
  • HMS Boadicea – B-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, sunk by enemy action in Lyme Bay
  • SS Breda – Dutch ship sunk off Scotland in 1940
  • HMS Coronation – 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy
  • SMS Dresden – Light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy
  • SS Eastfield – Ship sunk off Cornwall in 1917, now a dive site
  • HMT Elk – British trawler sunk off Plymouth in 1940, now a recreational dive site.
  • SS Espagne – Belgian cargo ship sunk in English Channel
  • HMS Falmouth – Town-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy
  • HMS Ghurka – Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy sunk off Dungeness by a German mine
  • Glen Strathallan – British ship scuttled in Plymouth sound as a dive site
  • Herzogin Cecilie – German-built four-masted barque wrecked near Salcombe
  • Hilma Hooker – Shipwreck in Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands
  • SS Hispania – Swedish steamship wrecked in the Sound of Mull, now a dive site
  • HMS Hood – Royal Sovereign-class battleship of the Royal Navy scuttled in Portland Harbour
  • SS James Eagan Layne – Liberty ship sunk off Cornwall, now a dive site
  • SMS Kronprinz – Battleship of the German Imperial Navy
  • Kyarra – Cargo and passenger luxury liner torpedoed and sunk near Swanage
  • HMS Laforey – Royal Navy destroyer sunk by a mine off Sussex
  • SS Louis Sheid – Belgian ship sunk off Devon on 1939. Now a recreational dive site
  • USS LST-507 – US Tank landing ship sunk off the south coast of England, now a dive site
  • HMS M2 – Royal Navy submarine monitor wrecked in Lyme Bay
  • SS Maine – British ship sunk in 1917 near Dartmouth, Devon. Now a recreational dive site
  • SS Maloja – UK registered passenger steamship sunk by a mine off Dover
  • Marguerite – French ship sunk in Lyme Bay in 1917. Now a dive site
  • SMS Markgraf – Battleship of the German Imperial Navy
  • SS Mendi – Passenger steamship that sank after a collision south of the Isle of Wight
  • RMS Moldavia – British ship sunk in 1918 off Beachy Head, now a dive site
  • HMS Montagu – Pre-dreadnought battleship of the British Royal Navy
  • MV RMS Mulheim – German owned container ship wrecked at Land's End, United Kingdom
  • SS Oceana – Cargo and passenger ship sunk off Beachy Head after a collision
  • MS Oslofjord – Ocean liner sunk after hitting a mine off the River Tyne
  • SS Persier – British ship sunk in Plymouth Sound in 1945. Now a dive site
  • MS Piłsudski – Polish passenger ship sunk off the Yorkshire coast
  • MV Pool Fisher – British merchant vessel that sank off the Isle of Wight
  • HMS Port Napier – British World War II auxiliary minesweeper that caught fire and exploded
  • Preußen – German steel-hulled five-masted ship-rigged windjammer sunk in Crab Bay after a collision
  • SS Radaas – Ship sunk in 1917 near Portland Bill, now a dive site
  • SS Rondo – Ship sunk in Sound of Mull in 1935, now a recreational dive site
  • SS Rosehill – Steam collier torpedoed and sunk near Fowey, Cornwall
  • SS Rotorua – New Zealand Shipping Company steam ocean liner and refrigerated cargo ship
  • Royal Adelaide – Iron sailing ship wrecked on Chesil Beach
  • Royal Charter – Steam clipper wrecked off Anglesey, UK
  • HMS Safari – Royal Navy S-class submarine which served in World War II
  • HMS Scylla – 1970 Type 12I or Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy, Cornwall, United Kingdom
  • HMS Sidon – Royal Navy submarine sunk in Portland Harbour by explosion of a faulty torpedo
  • Stanegarth – Steam tugboat scuttled as a dive feature at Stoney Cove
  • SS Stanwood – British ship sunk off Falmouth in 1939
  • SS Stella – Passenger ferry wrecked off the Casquets in 1899
  • SS Stepas Darius – Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II
  • SS Thesis – Steamship wrecked in 1889 in the Sound of Mull, Scotland. Now a recreational dive site.
  • SS Torrey Canyon – Oil tanker wrecked off the coast of Cornwall
  • U-40 – German submarine sunk by a mine in the English Channel
  • U-1195 – German World War II submarine
  • SS Varvassi – Greek freighter wrecked at The Needles in a storm after engine failure
  • SS Walter L M Russ – German freighter wrecked in St George's Channel
  • List of shipwrecks of the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall

United States

  • USS Aeolus – Attack cargo ship converted into a cable repair ship
  • SS Andrea Doria – Ocean liner sunk after a collision off Massachusetts in 1956 , Nantucket Sound. This dive is becoming less common, as the rapid deterioration of the wreck is making diving more difficult on top of the already treacherous dive to reach the vessel.
  • SS Arratoon Apcar – 19th-century British steamship that is now a wreck in Florida
  • SMS Geier – Unprotected cruiser of the German Imperial Navy
  • USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg – US Navy transport ship sunk as artificial reef at Key West

Caribbean Sea

Aruba

  • MS Antilla – Hamburg America Line cargo ship scuttled in 1940 off Aruba
  • SS Pedernales – Lake tanker damaged by a torpedo at Aruba, part of the ships remains as dive site

Bonaire

  • Hilma Hooker – Shipwreck in Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands

British Virgin Islands

  • RMS Rhone – Royal Mail Ship wrecked off Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands in a hurricane

Cayman Islands

Curaçao

Grenada

Mexico

Mustique

  • SS Antilles – French cruise ship that ran aground and sank off Mustique

Florida

Mediterranean Sea

Adriatic

Cyprus

Italy

Malta

North Carolina, Outer Banks

Scapa Flow, Scotland

South Atlantic

Brazil

East Pacific

West Pacific

Bikini Atoll

Guam

Diver between the hulls of Cormoran and Tokai Maru in Apra Harbor, Guam

Truk Lagoon

Indian Ocean

Red Sea

The Umbria Wreck ( Sudan) The Umbria wreck is considered one of the most famous wreck diving sites in the world, owing to its massive size, mysterious history, and fascinating cargo. This Italian vessel was constructed in Hamburg, Germany, in 1912. The circumstances of its sinking remain a matter of historical debate. Some accounts claim that the captain deliberately scuttled the ship to prevent it from falling into British hands, while other sources suggest it was under threat from a German submarine, leading to its sinking.

The ship sank—or was scuttled—on June 9, 1940, during the early days of Italy’s entry into World War II, while en route to East Africa. It was covertly carrying a large military cargo estimated at over 300,000 bombs, in addition to various weapons and supplies intended for Italian forces.

Today, the wreck lies in shallow waters off the Sudanese coast, specifically at Wingate Reef near Port Sudan, at depths ranging from 5 to 35 meters, making it accessible to most recreational divers. The site is renowned for its exceptional underwater visibility, which can reach up to 30 meters, providing stunning and unobstructed views of the ship’s structure. Fully exploring the wreck typically requires at least three dives, due to its immense size and the presence of five large cargo holds, many of which still contain original items such as bombs, timber, and crates of wine.


The Toyota Wreck (Blue Belt Wreck) - Sudan In 1977, the Blue Belt cargo ship collided with Sha’ab Suedi Reef, one of the most prominent dive sites along Sudan’s Red Sea coast, resulting in the vessel's sinking at the site. The accident caused its cargo—composed of Toyota-brand cars and trucks—to plunge to the seafloor, where the wreck remains to this day. The site is widely known among divers as The Toyota Wreck, and it is considered a unique dive location that combines historical intrigue with ecological richness.

On The Underwater and Diving Video Channel on YouTube, several daring divers explored and captured close-up footage of the remnants of the ship and its cargo. While the Japanese steel used in the vehicle bodies has long since corroded, the plastic components have surprisingly endured. Seats, dashboards, and front grills now encrusted with corals serve as lasting underwater monuments to the sunken vehicles.

Continental Shelf Station Two (Conshelf II)-Sudan Between 1962 and 1965, the renowned French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau constructed three underwater habitats as part of an ambitious project aimed at proving the feasibility of human habitation in underwater villages at varying depths. Although two of these structures were later dismantled, Continental Shelf Station Two—also known as Conshelf II—remains the only physical remnant of this pioneering experiment. It was established in 1963 near Sha’ab Rumi reef.

Cousteau documented this remarkable endeavor in his award-winning 1964 Oscar-winning documentary “World Without Sun”, which captured the experience of six aquanauts living for thirty days in a star-shaped underwater habitat located at a depth of ten meters. The mission was supported by a surface team that provided essential life support services, including air, water, food, and energy.

Despite the scientific and technical success of the project, Cousteau later chose not to pursue this path further, as he feared it would ultimately serve the interests of the oil industry. Instead, he devoted the rest of his life to the protection of the world’s oceans.

Today, divers can visit the remains of Conshelf II, where the six-meter-wide star-shaped metal structure still lies on the white sandy seabed at a depth of 13 meters. Coral and marine life have colonized the site, transforming it into a thriving artificial reef. Slightly deeper lie the old shark cages, which have likewise become rich habitats—silent witnesses to a groundbreaking scientific experiment that took place over half a century ago (Adil Sidahmed. Ahmed, 2025).

Freshwater Shipwrecks

Great Lakes

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Sawyer, Ty (22 September 2005). "The History of the Superior Producer". SportDiver.com. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "What Concrete Ships Lie at Guam?". ww2pacific.com. September 7, 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Diving in War in the Pacific National Historical Park". National Park Service. October 30, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2021.

View original on Wikipedia