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Close-up of a lizardfish head with mottled green and brown skin, an orange-ringed eye and a long yellow-edged mouth — St. Thomas

St. Thomas · U.S. Virgin Islands · Wreck

Cartanza Sr. Wreck

Intact engines on a shipping vessel broken into three pieces

Area photo: Becky A. Dayhuff, Environmental Educator · Public domain

The Cartanza Sr. is the wreck of an old shipping vessel in Buck Island Cove, off St. Thomas, visited by snorkelers and divers alike. Its intact engines are the feature to find, and Wye Reef lies right off the same cove.

Also known as Cartanza Sr., Cartanza.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Cartanza Sr. Wreck: typical dive to 12 m (to 40 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit12 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

18.2770° N, 64.8941° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The hull lies split into three pieces scattered all through Buck Island Cove, in about 12 m (40 ft) of water. Divers and snorkelers both explore the old shipping vessel, and its engines are still intact among the wreckage.

The wreck

Vessel
Cartanza Sr.
Type
Shipping vessel
Cause
Not recorded
Lies
In three pieces spread through Buck Island Cove, in about 12 m (40 ft)

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Cartanza Sr. Wreck
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodFairPrimeFairFairFairFairFairGood

Season follows St. Thomas: Boats leave daily; June brings resting sharks to the Navy Barges, and May to November is the rainy season.

Sources

  1. AAdivers dive sites — AA Divers
  2. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

More dive sites in St. Thomas

Wall

Buck Island Wall

Stingrays and eagle rays cruising a multi-level reef wall

9–21 mintermediate

Wall

Carvel Rock

A canyon with almost vertical walls on the north side

to 24 mintermediate

Reef

Cow Rock

A series of swim-throughs cut through the rock

to 14 mbeginner

Wreck

Miss Opportunity

A former hospital ship and office complex lying on her side

12–27 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Packet Rock

Lots of barracudas around rocks in the middle of the cut

to 15 mbeginner

Reef

Wye Reef

Huge barrel sponges on terraced rock groupings

to 18 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

Wreck

Amélie wreck

Martinique · Martinique

Scattered pieces of the Belem's sister ship in a shallow reserve

to 9 mbeginner

Wreck

Atlantic Princess

Bayahibe · Dominican Republic

A whole ship at 12 m, in water bright enough to read it from above

to 12 mbeginner

Wreck

Berwyn

Barbados · Barbados

A World War I French tug scuttled by her own crew

to 6 mbeginner

Wreck

Carnarvon

Eleuthera · Bahamas

Steam engine and boiler of a lighthouse freighter in 8 m

to 8 mbeginner