Koh Tao · Thailand · Wreck · Artificial reef
HTMS Sattakut
Upright navy wreck, superstructure at 18 m, keel at 30 m
Photo: Amada44 · CC BY-SA 3.0
A 48 m former US Navy landing craft, later a Royal Thai Navy vessel, scuttled off the west coast of Koh Tao in 2011 to create a dive site. She sits upright with the keel at 30 m and the superstructure accessible from 18 m, and the wreck now carries schools of fusiliers and snapper along with a steady run of macro life.
Also known as HTMS Sattakut (LCI-742).
Where it is and how deep
10.1017° N, 99.8154° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The ship stands upright on the bottom with the top of the superstructure at 18 m and the keel at 30 m, so the dive is a straightforward descent onto a known depth rather than a search across sand. Most groups arrive on the superstructure, work along the length of the deck, then drop down the side for a pass along the hull at the sand before climbing back over the deck to start the ascent.
Going inside is part of the attraction here: the cabins, portholes and holds are described as relatively easy to penetrate, and with a beam of only 7 m the interior is compact. That is also where the risk sits. Thirty metres and an overhead together leave very little margin, and a wreck that is easy to enter is not the same as one that is safe to enter without training, a torch and a guide who knows the layout.
The metal has been colonised since 2011. Large schools of fusiliers hang over the deck alongside yellowtail barracuda, trevally, snapper, rabbitfish, bannerfish and coral trout, while the plates carry nudibranchs, flatworms and blennies. Kuhl's stingrays sit on the sand beside the hull, and frogfish and ghost pipefish reward divers moving slowly. Current is usually mild and visibility runs 10 to 25 m.
The wreck
- Vessel
- HTMS Sattakut (LCI-742)
- Type
- Landing craft infantry, later Royal Thai Navy
- Length
- 48 m (157 ft)
- Sunk
- 2011
- Cause
- Scuttled deliberately to create a wreck for scuba diving
- Lies
- Upright in 30 m of water, superstructure from 18 m
Sattakut began as the US Navy landing craft infantry LCI-742 and took part in the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Second World War before being sold to the Royal Thai Navy. In 2011 she was scuttled off the west coast of Koh Tao for the specific purpose of creating a wreck for scuba diving, one of a long list of ships sunk worldwide for that reason. She is 48 m long and 7 m wide, and she sits within recreational depth: the top of the superstructure at 18 m, the keel at 30 m.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Nudibranchs
- Frogfish
- Stingrays
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Koh Tao: No official closure; whale shark sightings peak March-May and September-October, while October-November bring more rain and surface chop.
Know before you go
- The deck sits at 18 m and the keel at 30 m, so bottom time is short: plan the profile before the descent and treat the sand alongside the hull as a single pass rather than a place to linger.
- The cabins, portholes and holds are easy to enter but remain an overhead environment at 30 m: go inside only with wreck training and a torch, otherwise stay outside the hull.
Photos from HTMS Sattakut
Amada44 · CC BY-SA 3.0
portioid · CC BY-SA 4.0
portioid · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
HTMS SATTAKUT, Koh Tao's Wreck dive · Elisabeth Lauwerys on YouTube
HTMS Sattakut ⛴ Wreck Diving on Koh Tao · Marcel van den Berg on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the HTMS Sattakut?+
The wreck rests upright with the keel at about 30 m and the top of the superstructure accessible from 18 m, so most of the dive sits between those two depths. Operators run it as an Advanced-level dive.
Can you go inside the HTMS Sattakut?+
The cabins, portholes and holds are described as relatively easy to penetrate, and the hull is only 7 m wide. It is still an overhead environment at 30 m, so wreck training, a torch and a guide who knows the layout matter.
Sources
- Diving Sites Thailand - Koh Tao — Dive The World
- Diving in Koh Tao — Divezone
- Sinking ships for wreck diving sites — Wikipedia
- Ko Tao — Wikivoyage
- HTMS Sattakut, Koh Tao — PADI
Photo credits
- Encrusted deck gun on the sunken HTMS Sattakut, small fish drifting past by Amada44, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Diver silhouetted above the wreck's gun mount in green water by Amada44, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Bluespotted fantail ray resting on sand beside the wreck by portioid, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Chocolate grouper resting on coral near the wreck site by portioid, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
More dive sites in Koh Tao
Offshore granite tower where barracuda and jacks school in the blue
Drift
Drift over the Nang Yuan rock, with 40 m a short swim west
Reef
Sheltered fringing reef, sandy bottom at 12 m
Pinnacle
Coral-covered pinnacles beside the Sattakut, 7 m to 22 m
44.9 m navy attack craft, mast at 13 m, seabed at 23 m
Reef
Calm reef in the lee of Koh Nang Yuan, 2 to 16 m
Artificial reef
Sunken jeep and scrap at 10 to 12 m, colonised by reef fish
Reef
Plateau and canyon off the headland, sponges from 8 to 18 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Small wrecks and concrete cubes in one calm bay, with batfish in the hulls
Whale sharks around the hull between January and April
US-built landing ship, scuttled as an artificial reef in 2006
A 100 m cable layer with a 40 m cable corridor through her hull