North Carolina Wrecks · United States · Wreck · Artificial reef
USS Indra
Cut-open Navy repair ship with an open interior in 21 m
A 100-metre landing craft repair ship sunk for the North Carolina artificial reef programme in August 1992, sitting shallow enough to dive between about 11 and 21 metres. Large holes were cut in her sides before she went down and most of the bulkheads were taken out, so the interior is unusually open, and the operator rates the site novice.
Where it is and how deep
34.5653° N, 76.9750° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The Indra is one of the shallow wrecks on the North Carolina charter list. She was a landing craft repair ship, 100 metres long (328 feet), put down deliberately as an artificial reef on 4 August 1992 in 18 m (60 ft) of water, and the dive runs between roughly 11 and 21 metres depending on whether you stay on the upper decks or drop to the sand. The operator rates the site novice, and the depth leaves a long no-stop time.
Before she was sunk, large holes were cut into her sides for access and many of the bulkheads were removed. The result is an unusually open interior that is easy to enter and easy to see through, but it is still an overhead environment with cut steel edges and silt, and it deserves a light and a plan rather than a casual look inside.
Octopus and eels tuck under and around the wreckage, so the dive rewards slow work along the plating rather than a fast lap. Stingrays and the occasional shark pass off to the sides of the ship or cruise along the upper decks. In late summer the water can bring tropicals up with it and yellow tang or damselfish turn up on a wreck that is nowhere near the tropics.
The wreck
- Vessel
- USS Indra (ARL-37)
- Type
- Landing craft repair ship
- Length
- 100 m (328 ft)
- Sunk
- 1992
- Cause
- Scuttled for the North Carolina artificial reef programme
- Lies
- Hull opened with large cut access holes and most bulkheads removed
The Indra was commissioned on 2 October 1945, just after the end of the Second World War, and served as a landing craft repair ship. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1989 and transferred to the State of North Carolina, which sank her on 4 August 1992 in 18 m (60 ft) of water as part of its artificial reef programme. Preparing her for that role is what makes her diveable today: the sides were cut open for access and the interior stripped of bulkheads.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season |
Season follows North Carolina Wrecks: Charter season runs roughly April-November; sand tiger shark aggregations peak in September-October, while December-February seas are too rough for most boats.
Know before you go
- The cut access holes make the interior easy to enter and easy to underestimate. It is still overhead: take a light, watch the silt, and stay out of it without wreck training.
- Divers descend an offshore tie-in line with no bottom in sight. Go down and come back up on that line rather than free-ascending in open water away from the boat.
Questions divers ask
Is the USS Indra a good first wreck dive?+
The operator rates it novice, and the dive runs about 11 to 21 metres, well inside recreational depths. It is still an offshore boat dive on a descent line, and the interior is an overhead environment that needs wreck training before you go in.
Can you go inside the USS Indra?+
The ship was prepared for it: large holes were cut into her sides before sinking and many bulkheads were removed, leaving an open interior. Divers with wreck training and a light penetrate her regularly, but it is still a genuine overhead dive.
Sources
- North Carolina Dive Sites — Discovery Diving
- Artificial reef — Wikipedia
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