Dive BVI Dive Site

The Wreck of the Chikuzen

 75ft Depth Advanced

                                                                                                                     

One of the best dives in the BVI, due to its remote location, this site should only be attempted with our experienced dive instructors and with good weather conditions.

A 246 ft refrigeration vessel originally built in Shimizu, Japan, she was part of the fishing fleet in St Maarten. The propeller of the Chikuzen had been damaged in a storm 2 years prior and so she was moored at the fishing fleet dock, apparently causing quite a bit of damage to the dock.

The owners were afraid that she might cause further damage or break free and drift up onto the beach (a vessel of this size would be very expensive to re-float). She was intentionally set ablaze off the docks in St Maarten, but this stubborn vessel refused to sink, eventually reaching the BVI, threatening to beach itself on the small island of Marina Cay. She was taken under tow and eventually sank without threatening any further coastlines !

Situated 12 miles NW of Virgin Gorda surrounded by miles of sand, this is the only place for marine life to congregate. Regular visitors include schooling barracuda, horse-eye jacks and snapper; stingrays; eagle rays; African pompano; Atlantic spadefish; nurse sharks and black tip reef sharks along with a resident 600lb Goliath Grouper.

This is a challenging site due to regular swells in the 3-5ft range - please check with the dive shop regarding current conditions.  Finally, due to the unstable refrigerating piping inside the vessel, please do not penetrate the vessel.

The photo of the Chikuzen on the top left was taken by George Marler, in 1981. The photo was taken the day after the Chikuzen sunk in BVI waters and is displayed here by kind permission of George Marler who recently spent some time back in the BVI with his wife Luana. Also, many thanks to George for the background information on the Chikuzen.

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