Key West · United States · Wreck · Artificial reef
Cayman Salvager
Goliath grouper inside a 56 m hull that sank under tow in 1985, upright at 27 m
Photo: Florida Keys--Public Libraries from Key West, Fla., USA · CC BY 2.0
The Cayman Salvage Master, a 56 m former US Army mine planter that later served as a cable layer, buoy tender and salvage tug, sank in 1985 while under tow to be scuttled as an artificial reef, and lies about 10 km south of Key West at the southern edge of Hawk Channel in about 27 m. She is one of the three Key West sites on the Florida Keys Wreck Trek: morays and goliath grouper live inside the hull, with barracuda, snook, jacks and nurse sharks working the outside.
Also known as Cayman Salvage Master, Cayman Salvor.
Where it is and how deep
24.4608° N, 81.7669° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The wreck sits at the southern edge of Hawk Channel, about 10 km south of Key West, in a water depth of about 27 m, so this is a deep dive from the first minute and the plan is set by the descent. The ship is 56 m long, 11 m wide and 8 m high and stands upright on her keel, which gives you a shallower level on the upper structure if you want to stretch bottom time. Come down the line, get your bearings on the hull and decide before going anywhere how much of the 56 m you have gas to see. Visibility is around 15 m.
Two fittings are worth finding: a cable reel on the upper edge of the bow and the rudder under the stern, and three bicycles chained on deck whose origin is unknown but thought to be Cuban refugees'. The interior is diveable, but look in through the openings unless you are trained for penetration. Outside the hull the open-water fish are barracuda, snook and jacks, with silversides packing the structure and the Atlantic nurse shark a regular. Inside live moray eels and grouper, among them goliath grouper. Ascend the line with a safety stop; at 27 m the no-stop time goes quickly.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Cayman Salvage Master
- Type
- Mine planter, later cable layer, buoy tender and salvage tug
- Length
- 56 m (184 ft)
- Built
- 1937
- Sunk
- 1985
- Cause
- Tow line parted on the way to a planned 91 m (300 ft) artificial-reef site; she sank in 27 m (90 ft) instead
- Lies
- Upright on her keel in about 27 m (90 ft), righted from her port side by Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Built by Pusey & Jones in Wilmington, Delaware, and commissioned in 1937 as the US Army mine planter Lt Col Ellery W. Niles, she became an Army Signal Corps cable layer after the war, a Coast Guard buoy tender, then the Navy cable ship F. V. Hunt from 1965. Sold to the Cayman Islands in 1978 and renamed Cayman Salvage Master, she ended as a Panama-flagged freighter seized by the US Coast Guard in the 1980 Mariel boatlift with around 1,400 Cuban refugees aboard. Towed to Key West, she sank at the Navy Harbor dock. Refloated in August 1985 to be scuttled as a reef in 91 m (300 ft), she broke her tow line and sank in 27 m (90 ft), on her port side until Hurricane Katrina righted her in 2005.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Key West: November-April is the dry season, but winter cold fronts bring the coolest water (23 C) and the lowest sourced visibility; the wet season runs May-October and storm risk peaks in September.
Know before you go
- Depth: the seabed is at about 27 m, so bottom time is short and a safety stop is part of every plan.
- Current: the Gulf Stream brings at times strong and unpredictable current over the wreck, which is why it is rated unsuitable for inexperienced divers; stay on the line for descent and ascent.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Cayman Salvager wreck?+
She lies upright in about 27 m (90 ft) of water about 10 km south of Key West, which makes her an Advanced-level dive; the structure stands 8 m high so the upper parts are shallower.
What lives on the Cayman Salvager?+
Moray eels and grouper, including goliath grouper, live inside the hull; barracuda, snook, jacks, silversides and nurse sharks are found around the outside.
Sources
- Cayman Salvage Master — Wikipedia (German)
- Cayman Salvager (Wreck) — Scubago
Photo credits
- The salvage ship Cayman Salvage Master docked at Truman Annex in 1979 by Florida Keys--Public Libraries from Key West, Fla., USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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An eroded island's sand patch ringed by shallow reef under Sand Key Light
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