Bayahibe · Dominican Republic · Wreck · Artificial reef
Atlantic Princess
A whole ship at 12 m, in water bright enough to read it from above
Area photo: Pc.wiki4 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A former passenger ship sunk deliberately as an artificial reef off the resort strip west of Bayahibe, now lying at about 12 m. She was cleaned out and stripped of sharp edges before she went down, and a storm later moved her from a deeper spot to where she rests today, which is why a whole ship sits in water this shallow and this bright.
Where it is and how deep
18.3488° N, 68.8742° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck rests at about 12 m and the dive is bright the whole way through, so the usual first move is to hang above her and take in the shape before dropping onto the deck. She is a former passenger ship rather than a working freighter, and she reads as a complete vessel rather than as a set of disconnected features.
She was cleaned out and stripped of sharp edges and dangerous parts before being sunk, and the doors and windows are wide, so the swim-throughs are open and unforced; the old engine room is one of the spaces you can look into. Parrotfish work the plating, sergeant majors hold over it, and lobster and crabs sit back in the fittings.
With a maximum of 12 m the gas lasts and there is no reason to hurry. This is not where she was first sunk: she went down in a deeper spot and a storm moved her here, which is the reason a whole ship ended up in water this shallow. Barracuda hang off the structure, and encrusting growth has been taking the plates since 2009.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Atlantic Princess
- Type
- Passenger ship
- Sunk
- 2009
- Cause
- Sunk deliberately as an artificial reef in May 2009
- Lies
- At about 12 m off the resort strip west of Bayahibe, moved to this spot from deeper water by a storm
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Bayahibe: January to April is the driest stretch and October the wettest; Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November and peaks from late August into September.
Questions divers ask
Is the Atlantic Princess good for a first wreck dive?+
Yes. She sits at about 12 m and operators here treat her as the introduction to wreck diving: the dive is bright, the maximum depth is well inside Open Water limits, and the doors and windows are wide enough for open swim-throughs.
Sources
- Atlantic Princess (Wreck) — Scubago
- Atlantic Princess Wreck — Blue Dreams Diving
- Atlantic Princess dive site — PADI
More dive sites in Bayahibe
Wall
A 6 m coral slope that reaches an edge and drops away
Reef
A FUNDEMAR coral nursery and sunken statues at 12 m
Cave & cavern
Taíno artefacts in place in a 9 m freshwater cave
Reef
A park reef 25 minutes out, split into three dive points
Reef
Cannons and a musket rack set out on a park reef
Wreck
Top of the wreck at 15 m, bow on the sand at 44 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Three sunk ships and a retired underwater habitat in one bay
A 1944 US Navy minesweeper, split in two at 26 metres
A 100 m cable layer with a 40 m cable corridor through her hull
A 49 m freighter sunk as a reef, upright at 40 m