Grenada · Grenada · Wreck

Bianca C

A 180 m liner upright, with its deck pool open to divers

Area photo: audi_insperation · CC BY 2.0

The Bianca C is the Caribbean's largest wreck and Grenada's most famous dive: a 180-metre passenger ship that sank after an explosion and fire in October 1961 and settled upright about 2 km off Grand Anse beach. The working profile runs from about 28 metres at the bow down to 40 at the mid-section, with the on-deck swimming pool as the landmark.

Also known as MV Bianca C, Titanic of the Caribbean.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 60 m (197 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

12.0530° N, 61.7590° WPublished position for this site.

The dive

The normal dive profile begins at about 28 metres, where the fully intact bow section looms into view, and runs back along the hull to the mid-section, where the huge on-deck swimming pool is open enough for divers to float around inside it. Below that the ship keeps going — she settled upright in around 48 metres of water — so the deeper structure is a look rather than a route, and bottom time is short.

Depth is only half of the problem: the site can carry strong current, and how much water is moving decides whether the dive runs at all. The hull is encrusted with a tapestry of hard and soft corals, and barracuda, spotted eagle rays and schools of jacks work the wreck. The rear third of the ship was torn off in late 1992 and the structure has been deteriorating since, so the dive is a swim over and along the wreck rather than into it.

The wreck

Vessel: MV Bianca C
Type: Passenger ship
Length: 180 m (591 ft)
Built: 1944
Sunk: 1961
Cause: Explosion and fire on board off Grenada
Lies: Upright, about 2 km off Grand Anse beach

The ship was built during the Second World War at the boatyard of La Ciotat on the southern coast of France and first launched in June 1944 as the Maréchal Pétain; she later sailed as La Marseillaise and Arosa Sky before becoming the Bianca C. An explosion and fire off Grenada sank her on 24 October 1961. The Times has named the wreck one of the top ten wreck-diving sites in the world. In late 1992 the rear third of the ship was torn off, and it has been deteriorating since.

Marine life and season

Barracuda
Eagle rays
Trevally & jacks

Month-by-month season rating for Bianca C
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Prime	Prime	Prime	Prime	Good	Good	Fair	Fair	Fair	Fair	Fair	Prime

Season follows Grenada: December to April is the dry season, with calm, clear water; July to November is hurricane season, worst in September and October.

Know before you go

The profile sits between 28 and 40 metres on a wreck that reaches about 48, so gas planning and depth control, not the site, set the length of the dive.
Current on the site can be strong. Crews check it before dropping and will move the dive to another day when there is too much water running.

Dive videos

Grenada scuba dive on the Bianca C · Malcolm Dent BEM PHF on YouTube

Bianca C part 2 with penetration · J S on YouTube

Questions divers ask

How deep is the Bianca C wreck?+

The normal dive profile runs from about 28 metres at the bow down to 40 metres at the mid-section, and the ship sits upright in roughly 48 metres of water. Those depths keep bottom times short.

Who can dive the Bianca C?+

Experienced divers only. The depth and the possibility of strong currents rule it out for newer divers, and operators will normally require a checkout dive before running the trip.