RMS Rhone & Salt Island · British Virgin Islands · Wreck · Artificial reef
Kodiak Queen
A 1940 Navy fuel barge under a mesh kraken, in 17 m
Area photo: Gareth Richards · CC BY 3.0
A former US Navy fuel barge sunk just offshore of Long Bay on Virgin Gorda in March 2017 and turned into an underwater art installation, with a mesh kraken sculpture built over the hull. She sits in a maximum of 17 m, with 18 m the deepest ground quoted for the site, and the mesh is slowly being colonised by corals and sponges.
Also known as The Kraken, BVI Art Reef.
Where it is and how deep
18.4500° N, 64.4200° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck lies in a maximum of 17 m, with 18 m the deepest ground quoted for the site, just offshore of Long Bay on Virgin Gorda. That shallow profile is the character of the dive: gas rather than no-stop time decides how long you stay, so there is room to work around the hull slowly and still come back over the deck and the sculpture standing on it.
The reason to dive her is the mesh kraken built over the ship, which underwater reads as structure rather than as decoration. Corals and sponges are taking hold on the mesh, which was part of the point of the installation, though the whole thing has only been down since March 2017. Wide angle is the lens for this one, and there is light at this depth to use it.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Kodiak Queen
- Type
- US Navy fuel barge
- Built
- 1940
- Sunk
- 2017
- Cause
- Scuttled as an artificial reef and underwater art installation
- Lies
- In 17 m off Long Bay, Virgin Gorda, under a mesh kraken sculpture
Launched in 1940 as the US Navy fuel barge YO-44, the ship is recorded by Dive BVI as one of only five ships that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was later converted to an Alaska king crab vessel and salmon tender and worked out of Kodiak, Alaska. Owen Buggy, a friend of and photographer for Sir Richard Branson, saw the derelict hull and suggested the ship as an artificial reef; the project began, and in March 2017 she was sunk off Virgin Gorda as a dive site and underwater art installation.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows RMS Rhone & Salt Island: Nov–Jun is calmest and clearest; Aug–Oct hurricane season brings swell that can close the exposed Rhone site entirely.
Dive videos
Diving The Kodiak Queen - British Virgin Islands · Ben Kaplan on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is the Kodiak Queen a Pearl Harbor survivor?+
Dive BVI's account of the ship has her as one of only five ships that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. The same source records her launch in 1940 as the US Navy fuel barge YO-44, and her later work as an Alaska king crab vessel and salmon tender.
How deep is the Kodiak Queen?+
She sits in a maximum of 17 m off Long Bay, Virgin Gorda, with 18 m the deepest ground quoted for the site. That leaves a long, shallow profile with no penetration required.
Sources
- The Kodiak Queen — Dive BVI
- Dive Sites — Dive BVI
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