SS President Coolidge

Luganville · Espiritu Santo · Vanuatu

The SS President Coolidge is the largest easily accessible wreck dive in the world and one of the most historically significant. Originally a luxury ocean liner built in 1931 for the Dollar Steamship Company, this 200-metre vessel was converted into a troopship after Pearl Harbor and was carrying over 5,000 American servicemen when she struck two friendly anti-shipping mines while entering the Segond Channel at Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, on 26 October 1942. Captain Henry Nelson ran the stricken ship aground on the nearby reef, allowing nearly all troops to evacuate safely before the vessel slid stern-first down the coral slope to her final resting position. What makes the Coolidge uniquely accessible is that her bow rests at just 21 metres depth on the reef slope near shore, meaning divers simply wade in from the beach near Million Dollar Point in Luganville and swim to the wreck. This shore-entry convenience to a wreck of this magnitude is unmatched anywhere in diving. The ship stretches across the slope, with the main deck between 30-40 metres and the stern plunging to 73 metres, offering dive profiles for everyone from newly certified Advanced divers to seasoned technical divers. The interior of the Coolidge is a time capsule of both luxury and war. In the forward sections, the famous Lady porcelain tile mosaic from the first-class smoking room remains remarkably intact at 40 metres depth, her image of an elegant horsewoman as crisp as the day she was installed. Cargo holds contain military jeeps, helmets, rifles, ammunition, and personal effects of the soldiers who sailed on her final voyage. The promenade deck retains its art deco balustrades, and chandeliers still hang in grand salons encrusted with coral and swarming with glassfish. Marine life has thoroughly colonized the Coolidge over eight decades. Purple soft corals cling to winches and ventilators, moray eels peer from portholes, lionfish hover under overhangs, and schools of snapper and batfish surround the superstructure. The Vanuatu government declared the wreck a protected cultural site in 1983, prohibiting any salvage or removal of artefacts. Local operators in Luganville offer daily guided dives tailored to certification level, and the calm, warm waters of the Segond Channel make conditions consistently pleasant.