A 100 m Soviet-built Koni-class frigate, formerly of the Cuban Navy, bought by the Cayman Islands government and sunk off the Brac in September 1996. A winter storm two years later nearly tore her in two, so the aft section stands upright, the bow lies canted over and the midships is a debris field. She is one of only a few sunken Soviet naval vessels in the western hemisphere.
Also known as M/V Capt. Keith Tibbets.
Where it is and how deep
19.6936° N, 79.8832° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The frigate sits on sand rather than on the reef, roughly 200 m off Buccaneer on the north side of the island near its western tip, in a sandy area where visibility is generally good. She went down upright with the seabed at 27 m and her deck at 18 m, which keeps the ship inside a standard recreational profile and lets you work the hull from one end to the other rather than making a single deep pass.
She is no longer in one piece. Wave action from a Norwester storm over December 1998 and January 1999 nearly tore the ship in two: the fore section tipped to about 45 degrees while the aft portion stayed upright, and the midships between them collapsed into a debris field. The stern area was essentially unaffected, so that end of the wreck still reads as a warship, while the bow lies canted over and the middle is scattered steel.
There are numerous openings in the upper portion of the ship, enough that divers without a wreck certification can look inside without leaving daylight behind, and many more opened up when the hull broke in half. Those newer gaps are storm damage rather than cut entries, which is the line worth drawing on this dive: a look through the openings from outside is one thing, and swimming into a hull a storm has already worked on is another.
The wreck
- Vessel
- MV Captain Keith Tibbetts
- Type
- Koni-class frigate
- Length
- 100 m (328 ft)
- Sunk
- 1996
- Cause
- Bought by the Cayman Islands government and sunk as an artificial reef
- Lies
- On sand 200 m off the north coast; aft section upright, fore section tipped about 45 degrees
Built in the Soviet Union as a Koni-class frigate for the Cuban Navy and originally designated 356, she was bought by the Cayman Islands government, sunk in September 1996 and rechristened after a well-known Cayman Brac politician. She sat upright at 27 m with her deck at 18 m until wave action generated by a Norwester storm over December 1998 and January 1999 nearly tore her in two, leaving the fore section at about 45 degrees to the still-upright aft portion and the midships a debris field.
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 | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Cayman Brac: Seas are calmest Nov–May; Aug–Oct is hurricane season, when sites often move to whichever shore is in the lee.
Know before you go
- The storm that broke the ship left the midships as a debris field and opened new gaps in the hull; these are torn steel rather than prepared entries, so treat penetration as a wreck-course dive.
- The sand around the wreck is at 27 m and the deck at 18 m, so the profile eats no-decompression time. Work the deeper sections first and finish shallow along the upper hull.
Dive videos
A Tour of the MV Captain Keith Tibbetts (aka Frigate 356) · IanGMail Pitt on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Captain Keith Tibbetts?+
She was sunk upright with the seabed at 27 m and her deck at 18 m, so the superstructure sits inside standard recreational limits and only the sand around the hull reaches the site's maximum depth.
Can you go inside the wreck?+
There are numerous openings in the upper portion of the ship for divers who are not wreck-certified, and many more appeared when the storm broke her in half. Those newer gaps are storm damage rather than prepared entries, so anything past a look into daylight belongs on a wreck course.
What kind of ship is she?+
A 100 m Koni-class frigate built in the Soviet Union for the Cuban Navy and bought by the Cayman Islands government, which sank her as an artificial reef in September 1996. She is one of only a few sunken Soviet naval vessels in the western hemisphere.
Sources
- Cayman Brac — Wikipedia
- Diving in the Cayman Islands — Divezone
In The Logbook
- Why things look bigger underwaterOcean science · 12 min read
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- Your first wreck dive: what to expect and whereFirst dives · 6 min read
More dive sites in Cayman Brac
Reef
Two anchors grown into the reef at 24 and 27 m
Wall
Sand chutes to the wall, plus a small wreck on the sand
Reef
A large pillar coral standing over a 15 m reef floor
Reef
An inner reef cut by multiple swim-throughs
Reef
A sloping mini wall from 10 m down to sand at 16–20 m
Reef
Stairs at the boat launch, then telephone cables west
Reef
Coral fingers and sand channels, usually with some current
Reef
Hawksbill and green turtles along a mini wall from 9 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A hull that was placed rather than lost, upright at 25 m
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
Three swim-throughs, and sometimes 15 to 20 groupers inside