On January 5, 2011, the Valhalla pirate ship gave a three-canon salute to the Kittiwake as it prepared to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

After seven years of dedicated effort and planning, the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, in collaboration with the Ministry and Department of Tourism, successfully laid the former submarine rescue ship in its final resting place off the Country's famous Seven Mile Beach where it will provide both a snorkeling and dive attraction.

Launched way back in 1945, the Kittiwake weighs just over 2290 tons. It features a thrilling opportunity of discovery for divers and snorkelers visiting the Cayman Islands. 

Comprising of a main deck and 2 decks including crew’s quarter, a medic/hospital station, engine and propulsion rooms, air bank storage and compressors as well as the steering gear, shaft, gyro, ammunition lockers, cold storage and barber shop, there is plenty to swim around and photograph!

You can snorkel overhead and see the main decks and topography of the ship plus take a look down the smoke stack that opens up straight down to the bottom of the hull and the engine rooms. There is no end of rooms to explore this wreck, that will soon enough become an artificial reef, enhancing the marine environment with new fishery stock and habitats for marine life.

The Kittiwake is situated in Marine Park that is protected under law in Cayman, with no touching or taking of anything, no gloves allowed and no fishing allowed on the wreck/Kittiwake site. It requires an entrance fee to visit from a licensed operator, with the fees going towards the ongoing maintenance and protection of the new artificial wreck/reef plus natural reefs.

The Kittiwake adds to the splendour of the already existing 365 dive sites in the Cayman Islands, where every day of the year is covered.