Mar del Plata · Argentina · Wreck
Cristo Rey
The 1981 wooden hull that started the city's wreck park
Area photo: FarSouthNavy · CC BY 4.0
The Cristo Rey is the wooden hull that founded Mar del Plata's underwater park: a Second World War minesweeper that became a fishing vessel and was scuttled by the Escualo diving club on 27 June 1981. It rests on a shell bottom at about 22 m off the Punta Mogotes lighthouse, broken down by storms but still readable as a ship.
Where it is and how deep
38.1236° S, 57.5046° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The old minesweeper lies on a bottom of crushed shell off the Punta Mogotes lighthouse. The hull sits at about 22 m, though the depth is also given as about 30 m.
Storms and currents have worn down the wooden hull since 1981, but the structure can still be followed from end to end. At the stern the propeller, sternpost and rudder blade remain in place, and along the length of the wreck divers can pick out hatches, the keel and the frames.
Visibility here is often poor. The park sits close to the coast between two rocky banks, and the strong flow of water between them keeps the bottom stirred up. The Khronometer and the Simbad were later sunk in the same sector of the seabed, so the Cristo Rey is one stop in a growing group of scuttled ships rather than a dive on its own.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Cristo Rey
- Type
- Wooden minesweeper, later a fishing vessel
- Sunk
- 1981
- Cause
- Scuttled by the Escualo diving club on 27 June 1981 to found an underwater park
- Lies
- On a shell bottom at about 22 m; the wooden hull has broken down but the stern is recognisable
The Escualo club began the project in late 1978, and the approvals were long: the Prefectura Naval Argentina checked that the hull would not obstruct navigation, and the navy's hydrographic service asked for studies showing the coast would not be affected. The ship was sunk as slowly as possible to keep it upright. Its marker buoy disappeared soon afterwards, and divers only found the wreck again 25 years later.
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 | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Mar del Plata: The best months are September to November and March to May. Water falls to 8–16 °C from May to September, though club boats still go out in July.
Know before you go
- Strong currents run through the park, which lies close to the coast between two rocky banks, and keep visibility poor.
Dive videos
Parque Submarino Cristo Rey 21-02-2016 · Alvaro Cubiella on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Cristo Rey wreck in Mar del Plata?+
The hull rests on a shell bottom at about 22 m, though the depth is also given as about 30 m.
What is left of the Cristo Rey wreck?+
The wooden hull has broken down, but the stern with its propeller, sternpost and rudder blade, the hatches, the keel and the frames can still be recognised.
Sources
- Parque Submarino Cristo Rey — Centro de Actividades Submarinas Escualo
- Una incursión a los barcos hundidos frente a la costa de Mar del Plata — Diario La Capital de Mar del Plata
- El parque submarino Cristo Rey sumó al pesquero Simbad — Diario La Capital de Mar del Plata
- Proyectan crear un nuevo parque submarino en Mar del Plata — El Marplatense
More dive sites in Mar del Plata
Sand slope
The clubs' usual offshore bank, with the city's richest fauna
Sand slope
An offshore sand bank from 20 to 28 m
Sand slope
An offshore sand bank from 24 to 42 m
Sand slope
An offshore sand bank from 24 to 36 m
Wreck
An 82 m Soviet fishing vessel at 25 m
Artificial reef
The first ship sunk on Banco de Afuera, in 28 m
Wreck
A 51 m steel fishing vessel scuttled in 2022
Similar dives elsewhere
Wreck
Castor
Porto Seguro & Santa Cruz Cabrália · Brazil
A cargo ship broken in three on the reef, propeller and rudder at 15 m
A 36 m fishing boat at about 22 m with a hull prepared for entry
The park's shallowest hull, at about 18 m and minutes from town
A 35 m fishing boat at about 24 m, prepared for divers to enter