Penetration20 sites11 countries

Dive sites: Penetration

Penetration dive sites — depth, conditions, and required training level.

Australia

HMAS Brisbane Wreck

Mooloolaba · Queensland · Australia

Australia's premier artificial reef, a 133-metre guided-missile destroyer sitting upright on the seabed teeming with fish life just off the Sunshine Coast.

HMAS Perth Wreck

Albany · Western Australia · Australia

A scuttled Australian Navy destroyer escort in King George Sound, now a heritage-listed artificial reef colonised by massive sponge gardens and temperate fish.

Canada

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HMCS Saskatchewan Wreck

Nanaimo · British Columbia · Canada

A deliberately sunk Canadian naval destroyer escort resting off Nanaimo, now an artificial reef teeming with giant Pacific octopus, lingcod, and plumose anemones.

Cayman Islands

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USS Kittiwake

George Town · Grand Cayman · Cayman Islands

A 77-metre former submarine rescue vessel resting upright on sand, fully penetrable and teeming with marine life.

Egypt

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Giannis D Wreck

Hurghada · Red Sea · Egypt

Greek cargo ship sunk in 1983 on Abu Nuhas reef. Intact stern section with engine room penetration.

SS Thistlegorm

Sharm el-Sheikh · Red Sea · Egypt

WWII British cargo ship sunk in 1941. Intact motorcycles, trucks, and locomotives inside the holds.

Shaab Abu Nuhas

Hurghada · Red Sea · Egypt

Reef with four shipwrecks. Carnatic, Giannis D, Chrisoula K, and Kimon M. A wreck diver's paradise.

Abu Nuhas - Giannis D Wreck

Hurghada · Red Sea Governorate · Egypt

A Greek cargo ship that sank in 1983 on the notorious Abu Nuhas reef, now broken in two with a dramatic bow section rising from the reef slope and an engine room open for penetration.

Guam

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USS Apogon Submarine

Hagatna · Apra Harbor · Guam

A Cold War-era submarine deliberately sunk as a target in Apra Harbor, sitting upright on the sandy bottom with intact hull and conning tower, creating Guam's most iconic wreck dive alongside the nearby Tokai Maru.

Jordan

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Cedar Pride Wreck

Aqaba · Aqaba Governorate · Jordan

Jordan's most famous dive -- a 75-metre freighter deliberately sunk in 1985 as an artificial reef, lying on her port side and completely encrusted in soft corals and marine life.

Kuwait

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Oga Maru Wreck

Kuwait City · Persian Gulf · Kuwait

A Japanese cargo vessel resting on the sandy Gulf floor off Kuwait, this accessible wreck dive offers penetration opportunities, resident marine life, and a window into Kuwait's growing recreational diving scene.

Micronesia

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Shinkoku Maru

Weno · Chuuk State · Micronesia

A coral-encrusted WWII Japanese oiler resting upright in Chuuk Lagoon, with world-class penetration and haunting artefacts.

Thailand

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HTMS Kut Wreck

Pattaya · Chonburi · Thailand

A decommissioned Royal Thai Navy corvette purposely sunk as an artificial reef near Pattaya, now a thriving marine habitat where barracuda schools patrol the deck and soft corals carpet the superstructure in one of the Gulf of Thailand's premier wreck dives.

HTMS Chang Wreck

Koh Chang · Gulf of Thailand · Thailand

A decommissioned Royal Thai Navy landing craft ship intentionally sunk in 2012 off Koh Chang, now the largest artificial reef in the Gulf of Thailand.

Yong Hua Shipwreck

Koh Lipe · Satun · Thailand

A Chinese cargo vessel resting upright on the seabed south of Koh Lipe, now colonised by soft corals and swarming with resident fish schools, offering the Andaman Sea's most accessible wreck dive with easy penetration for certified divers.

HTMS Sattakut Wreck

Koh Tao · Surat Thani Province · Thailand

A purposely sunk Thai Navy vessel off Koh Tao offering penetration opportunities and an expanding artificial reef in the Gulf of Thailand.

United States

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Spiegel Grove Wreck

Key Largo · Florida Keys · United States

A 155-metre former US Navy landing ship dock intentionally sunk in 2002 off Key Largo, now the largest purpose-sunk artificial reef in the world and home to massive goliath groupers and swirling barracuda schools.

USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg

Key West · Florida Keys · United States

A 160-metre former military transport ship intentionally sunk in 2009 off Key West, creating the second-largest artificial reef in the world and attracting goliath groupers, barracuda, and sea turtles.

USS Schurz Wreck

Morehead City · North Carolina · United States

A World War I naval vessel resting on the sandy bottom of North Carolina's Graveyard of the Atlantic, this former German Imperial Navy cruiser turned American warship offers penetration diving among historical artefacts and rich temperate marine life.