Roatán · Honduras · Wreck · Night · Artificial reef
Prince Albert Wreck
A shore-accessible wreck at 20 m, also dived after dark
Area photo: William Eburn · CC BY 2.5
CoCo View Resort's house wreck: a 43 m freighter sitting upright in 20 m of water directly in front of the resort, reached on a few fin kicks from the beach as easily as from the boat. Sunk in 1985 and modified for easy entrance, she is still in good shape under her algae and soft coral, and is one of the resort's standard night dives.
Where it is and how deep
16.3594° N, 86.4331° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck's position is what makes it unusual: it sits right in front of CoCo View, so it can be dived on a short fin kick from the beach, dropped on at the end of a boat trip coming home, or done after dark, all from the same dock. She lies upright in 20 m of water, which means a single tank covers the hull with time left over for the ground around her.
She is in good shape for a ship sunk in 1985, and she was modified to make entry straightforward for divers, so the inside forms part of the normal dive rather than a specialty add-on. Algae and soft coral cover the plating, with a soft coral forest on the bow and aft decks. Eagle rays and southern stingrays visit the sand around the hull and squid turn up around the structure, and the wreck is a popular night dive.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Prince Albert
- Type
- Freighter
- Length
- 43 m (141 ft)
- Sunk
- 1985
- Cause
- Sunk deliberately as a dive site by CoCo View founder Bill Evans
- Lies
- Upright in 20 m of water in front of the resort, in good shape and grown over with algae and soft coral
The Prince Albert was a freighter of about 43 m, originally owned by Nicaraguans and used to transport refugees before she was abandoned and stripped. In 1985 Bill Evans, CoCo View's founder, organised her sinking with help from Doc Radawski, a project that required government authorisation. She was modified for easy entrance for divers before she went down, and has held up well since: the hull sits upright and remains in remarkably good shape under its algae and soft coral growth.
Marine life and season
- Eagle rays
- Stingrays
- Squid
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Roatán: March to August is dry with the calmest seas; October to February is the rainy season, wettest in November and December.
Know before you go
- Entry into the hull was made easy, but it is still an enclosed space; carry a light and keep an exit in sight rather than working deep inside.
- At 20 m the wreck sits past the Open Water depth limit, and the shore swim means no boat overhead — watch gas and turn the dive on your own numbers.
Dive videos
Roatan Prince Albert Wreck Dive · Levias14 on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can you dive the Prince Albert from shore?+
Yes. The wreck lies directly in front of CoCo View Resort and is reached on a short fin kick from the beach. It is also used as a boat drop-off on the way back in, and as one of the resort's standard night dives.
Sources
- CoCo View Resort Wreck Diving — CoCo View Resort
- CoCo View Resort Dive Sites — CoCo View Resort
- CoCo View Resort Front Yard — CoCo View Resort
- Diving in Honduras — Wikivoyage
- CoCo View Resort (node position) — OpenStreetMap
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- Cheapest places to scuba dive, and the catchTrip planning · 15 min read
- Liveaboard vs resort diving: which suits you?Trip planning · 6 min read
- Your first wreck dive: what to expect and whereFirst dives · 6 min read
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