Espiritu Santo · Vanuatu · Wreck
The Bow
The shallowest point on the wreck, 21 metres down
The bow is the shallow end of the SS President Coolidge, resting at 21 metres with the ship on her port side off Espiritu Santo. It is the part of the wreck that tolerates an unhurried dive, on a 199-metre liner turned troopship that went down in 1942 with her guns, vehicles and stores still aboard.
Where it is and how deep
15.5242° S, 167.2352° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Access is the easy part here: the site is a relatively shallow one with beach access, and operators also keep a private mooring on the bow for divers coming in by boat. From either entry you drop down onto the hull, and the bow itself sits at 21 metres — shallow enough that this end of the ship gives you working time rather than a handful of minutes before the ascent.
The ship lies on her port side with the stern 73 metres down, so from the bow everything runs away from you into deeper water. Divers can swim through numerous holds and decks, and the cargo she was carrying when she sank — guns, cannons, jeeps, trucks, helmets and personal supplies — is all still aboard, kept there by the 1983 ban on removing anything from the wreck.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS President Coolidge
- Type
- Ocean liner converted to troopship
- Length
- 199 m (653 ft)
- Built
- 1931
- Sunk
- 1942
- Cause
- Struck two mines, the first near the engine room and the second near her stern
- Lies
- On her port side, bow at 21 m and stern at 73 m
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Espiritu Santo: Diveable year-round in the sheltered bay; the Nov-Apr wet season brings cyclone risk that can occasionally halt trips.
Dive videos
WWII wrecks. SS President Coolidge - Under the bow · Victor Hawk on YouTube
Wreck diving, SS President Coolidge. Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. · MrGlenndini on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the bow of the President Coolidge?+
The bow rests at 21 metres, the shallowest point on the wreck. The stern lies at 73 metres, so depth increases steadily as you work aft along the hull.
Is the Coolidge a shore dive or a boat dive?+
Both are used. The wreck is described as relatively shallow with easy beach access, and operators also run boat dives to private moorings on the bow, midships and stern.
Sources
- SS President Coolidge — Wikipedia
- SS President Coolidge dive site — PADI
In The Logbook
- DPV diving: what an underwater scooter changesGear & kit · 10 min read
- WWII wrecks you can dive, by theatreWrecks · 7 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
More dive sites in Espiritu Santo
Artificial reef
Tanks and jeeps tipped into the sea, still on the sand
Wreck
The deep end of the wreck, 73 metres down
Similar dives elsewhere
A swim through a bomber's fuselage from tail to cockpit
A well-preserved fishing boat leaning to starboard at 20 m
A coral-covered Japanese Navy seaplane visible from the surface
Navy tug alone on sand at 20 m, sharks inside