Fernando de Noronha · Brazil · Wreck
Corveta Ipiranga
A 55 m navy corvette lying at about 62 m
Photo: Firedrop Marendo Müller · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Corveta Ipiranga is a Brazilian Navy corvette of the Imperial Marinheiro class, lost at Fernando de Noronha in 1983, and her remains lie off Ponta da Sapata at about 62 metres. That is well past recreational depth limits, and Portuguese-language sources describe visiting her as an advanced dive while calling her one of the best-known dives in the region.
Also known as Ipiranga (V-17), CV Ipiranga.
Where it is and how deep
3.8753° S, 32.4753° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is a deep dive rather than a reef dive. The wreck lies off Ponta da Sapata, the western point of the main island, in roughly 62 metres of water, and Portuguese-language sources present her as an advanced dive made near the island. Plan it as a single deep outing with staged decompression, and expect the short bottom time that depth allows rather than the unhurried profile the shallow sites give you.
The ship is a corvette of 55.72 metres, built for the Brazilian Navy by Scheepswerf Jonker & Stans at Rotterdam, laid down in October 1953, launched in June 1954 and commissioned in January 1955, so there is a full warship hull to work along. Nothing published describes her present condition, how she sits on the bottom or whether any part of her can be entered, so treat the interior as an unknown and dive the outside of the hull unless a guide who knows the wreck says otherwise.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Corveta Ipiranga (V-17)
- Type
- Imperial Marinheiro-class corvette
- Length
- 55.72 m (183 ft)
- Built
- 1954
- Sunk
- 1983
- Cause
- Foundered during a commission at Fernando de Noronha; one source adds she was put down at the spot after a navigation accident
- Lies
- Off Ponta da Sapata, Fernando de Noronha, at about 62 m
Ipiranga was built for the Brazilian Navy by Scheepswerf Jonker & Stans of Rotterdam: keel laid on 17 October 1953, launched on 26 June 1954 and commissioned on 6 January 1955, a corvette of the Imperial Marinheiro class of 911 tons standard displacement. In 1983 she was lost at Fernando de Noronha during a commission. Portuguese-language sources differ on the ending — one records simply that she foundered, the other that she was put down deliberately at the spot after a navigation accident. Her remains lie off Ponta da Sapata at a depth of about 62 metres.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Fernando de Noronha: Aug–Oct is peak dry season with the clearest water (up to 50 m); Feb–Jul brings rain and swell that reduce visibility, though diving continues year-round.
Know before you go
- At about 62 m this is a decompression dive outside recreational limits; gas planning and narcosis set the shape of it far more than the wreck does.
- No position is published for the wreck itself, only its location off Ponta da Sapata, so reaching it depends on an operator who already holds the mark.
Photos from Corveta Ipiranga
Firedrop Marendo Müller · CC BY-SA 3.0
Firedrop Marendo Müller · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dive videos
MERGULHO NAUFRÁGIO CORVETA IPIRANGA V 17 - FERNANDO DE NORONHA · PAULO KRUG on YouTube
Naufrágio - Corveta Ipiranga V17 · Brasil Mergulho on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Corveta Ipiranga?+
About 62 metres. Brazilian sources put the wreck's remains at roughly that depth off Ponta da Sapata, which makes it an advanced or technical dive rather than a recreational one.
What kind of ship is the Ipiranga?+
A Brazilian Navy corvette of the Imperial Marinheiro class, 55.72 metres long, built in Rotterdam by Scheepswerf Jonker & Stans, laid down in October 1953 and launched in June 1954. She was lost at Fernando de Noronha in 1983.
Sources
- Corveta Ipiranga (V-17) — Wikipédia (pt)
- Fernando de Noronha — Wikipédia (pt)
- Ponta da Sapata — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- Two divers descending alongside the sunken corvette Ipiranga's superstructure by Firedrop Marendo Müller, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coral and sponge-encrusted naval gun on the deck of the wreck by Firedrop Marendo Müller, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Diver kneeling on the wreck's superstructure near a soft coral cluster by Firedrop Marendo Müller, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- How a rebreather works, and what it buys youGear & kit · 8 min read
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