New Shipwrecks to Scuba Dive in the Atlantic Ocean
Coach Sugar Memorial Dive Site
Courtesy Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center/Rutger GeerlingNeal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center sunk four vessels off the coast of North Bimini.
Location: North Bimini Island, Bahamas
Type of ship: Various
Depth: 85 feet
Access: Divable
Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Center in the Bahamas has sunk four vessels off the coast of North Bimini, creating a new artificial reef for divers to explore. The Coach Sugar Memorial Dive Site, named after a youth mentor in Bimini, is home to the 165-foot barge J.P. Kipp, the 90-foot Tug Manatee, a 70-foot landing craft dubbed “the Lady in Red,” and a 30-foot boat that once washed ashore with 19 Cuban refugees. The wrecks were towed a few miles off the North Bimini shore and are located within swimming distance of one another, making for a jam-packed dive.
USCGC Tamaroa
Courtesy Cape Gazette/Eric BurnleyThe USCG Tamaroa sank off the Mid-Atlantic coast of the U.S.
Location: Del-Jersey-Land reef, Mid-Atlantic region, U.S.
Type of ship: U.S. Coast Guard cutter, originally U.S. Navy fleet tug
Depth: 130 feet
Access: Divable
The Del-Jersey-Land reef, an equidistant 26 miles off the coasts of Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland, now has another historical ship for divers to explore. The 205-foot USCGC Tamaroa was decommissioned in 1994 but was only recently sunk as part of the artificial reef. Originally used during WWII under the name USS Zuni, after the war ended it saw new life as a rescue boat for the U.S. Coast Guard. The Tamaroa is most famously known for its use in 1991 to rescue seven members of a sailboat crew stranded during the infamous “Perfect Storm” in New England that inspired a book and film of the same name. It was hauled by tugboat from a shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, to New Jersey, where it’s currently resting beside four other wrecks.
Niobe Corinthian
Courtesy Bernews.comThe Niobe Corinthian was a ship with a sketchy past. It was laid to rest off the northern coast of Bermuda.
Location: Northern Bermuda
Type of ship: Casino ship, originally oil transport
Depth: 70 feet
Access: Divable
The Niobe Corinthian was created by Shell Oil Company to serve offshore oil rigs, but it eventually came into the hands of a casino operator who turned the ship into a gambling cruise. Gambling is illegal in Bermuda, but that didn’t stop the new owner, who simply took the 175-foot-long ship out beyond national waters. Still, the ship had to port in Bermuda, and eventually it was raided by the government. Operations were shut down in 2008, and it was docked in northern Bermuda, where it remained abandoned for years. After removing all gaming machines and readying the ship for safe sinking, it was towed 12 miles offshore where a party of boats watched it tip over and sink.
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