Decommissioned military ships often get purposefully sunk in order to serve as artificial reefs. And the case for the USS Kittiwake, a 1945-vintage submarine rescue ship, is no different. Crews flooded the rusty 2,200 ton ship chamber by chamber, until it came to rest on the bottom of the Caribbean. The sunken ship will eventually be populated by corals, sponges, and tons of fish, and it will undoubtedly become a hot spot for divers. Though it currently sits in 62-feet of water, the top of the ship is only about 15-feet down, so it will be easily accessible even to snorkelers and free divers.
Below is a sequence of photos depicting the sinking of the Kittiwake.
Photo courtesy of Cayman Islands Department of Tourism
