We had a chance to discover the latest addition to the Pompano Shipwreck Park: the Okinawa wreck. It’s amazing to see how quickly the sea claims these artificial reefs and how full of life they become.
The Okinawa wreck was sunk on Aug 9, 2017. It is an army tugboat measuring 107 ft with a 26 ½ ft bow. The wreck was initially sunk fully upright thanks to the use of floats, good sea conditions and careful planning. A short time later, Hurricane Irma came by and decided it was better off in a spot a half mile away and on its side! The strength of these hurricanes is impressive. The Okinawa was a 350-ton displacement vessel when loaded!
Even listing 30 degrees or so, the site is nicely accessible, and it remains in shallow water measuring in at a 70 ft depth and only 40 ft to the top of the wheelhouse. You can see its impressive 8-foot propeller from behind. When preparing the wreck, Dennis MacDonald, a renowned artist, participated in preparing several statues that adorn the deck including a mermaid statue holding a mirrored ball (now covered in growth, but a nice shape to see).
There were many sculptures that adorned the deck which were made by local children, but many were damaged in the move.
An abundance of sea life has adopted the Okinawa as its home, and we saw impressive barracudas along with arrow crabs and many reef fish. The wreck has many good spots to penetrate and you can get a good view of the engine room if you’re wreck certified and enter the structure.
We had a couple of boats on the wreck at once and it got a little crowded, but all the same this was a great wreck to visit. We had 60+ ft visibility the day we visited which is amazing for South Florida diving.
We would not be disappointed to return to see how this new dive site continues to evolve.
See our list of South Florida Dive Sites