Florida Keys · United States · Wreck · Artificial reef
USS Spiegel Grove
155 m (510 ft) of Navy dock landing ship, upright since 2005
A 155-metre (510-foot) Navy dock landing ship scuttled as an artificial reef six miles off Key Largo in 2002. Hurricane Dennis pushed her upright in 2005, and she sits on her keel with the top deck about 18 m down and the hull reaching 41 m, so the dive works a range of 21 to 40 m. Advanced certification is required, and the interior is for divers with wreck training.
Where it is and how deep
25.0667° N, 80.3002° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The ship is big enough that no one dive covers her: 510 feet (160 m) long with an 84-foot (26 m) beam, sitting upright on her keel since Hurricane Dennis righted her in 2005. The top deck sits roughly 18 m below the surface, the working range of the wreck runs from 21 to 40 m, and the hull bottoms out at 41 m, so a recreational profile means choosing one section, bow, superstructure or stern, and staying with it.
Depth sets the plan and the rest follows from it. Advanced certification is required to dive her at all, and penetration is a separate decision again: inside the hull silt lifts easily and can cut visibility to almost nothing, which is how divers become disorientated. Without wreck training the dive stays outside the structure, working the exterior of the deck and superstructure and surfacing with gas in hand.
The wreck
- Vessel
- USS Spiegel Grove
- Type
- Dock landing ship (LSD-32)
- Length
- 160 m (525 ft)
- Built
- 1956
- Sunk
- 2002
- Cause
- Intentionally scuttled as an artificial reef
- Lies
- Upright on her keel since Hurricane Dennis in July 2005; top deck about 18 m, hull to 41 m
Commissioned on 8 June 1956, the dock landing ship was scuttled as an artificial reef off Key Largo on 17 May 2002. The sinking went wrong: she settled too soon, began rolling to starboard and ended up upside-down, and had to be rolled onto her starboard side in June 2002. Hurricane Dennis finished the job in July 2005, shifting her onto her keel, the position originally intended. She opened to recreational divers on 26 June 2002 and drew around 50,000 dives a year across her first two years.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Florida Keys: Winter cold fronts (December-February) bring choppier seas and cooler water; April-August offers the calmest conditions, though hurricane season runs June-November.
Know before you go
- Silt inside the hull lifts easily and can reduce visibility to almost zero, causing disorientation; penetration needs wreck training, a reel and a light.
- At least eight diving fatalities have been recorded here since 2003, from medical emergencies and penetration accidents, and the 21 to 40 m range leaves little margin for error.
Dive videos
Diving the USS Spiegel Grove | Florida Keys’ Most Famous Wreck · Carissa Dives on YouTube
Diving the USS Spiegel Grove (quick inside look) · Brent Dives on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Do you need Advanced to dive the Spiegel Grove?+
Yes, advanced certification is required. The top deck is at about 18 m but the dive runs from 21 to 40 m and the hull reaches 41 m. Going inside the ship needs wreck training on top of the advanced card.
How big is the USS Spiegel Grove?+
She is 510 feet (160 m) long with an 84-foot (26 m) beam, sunk as an artificial reef in 2002 and upright on her keel since Hurricane Dennis in 2005, six miles off Key Largo.
Sources
- USS Spiegel Grove — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- US flag mounted on the sunken wreck, lit by rays from the surface by Scott Hughes from Dallas, TX, US, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- DPV diving: what an underwater scooter changesGear & kit · 10 min read
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