St-Pierre 1902 Shipwrecks Dive (Roraima, Tamaya and others)

14° 44.3′ N · 61° 11.0′ W

A dozen ships burned and sank at anchor when Mont Pelée's pyroclastic cloud swept the roadstead on May 8, 1902. Their wrecks make an underwater archaeological site and one of the Caribbean's great historic wreck dives.

The Grenadines Grenada St Lucia & Martinique

Practical

Position is the Roraima, the largest wreck, given by French Wikipedia as 14°44.31'N, 61°11.048'W, about 300 m offshore at 40-45 m. The Canadian passenger steamer (103.6 m), at anchor on May 8, 1902, lost 57 of the 68 people aboard. Cousteau's team nicknamed it 'the wreck with white hair' after the whip corals that cover it. Martinique tourism gives its depth as 60 m (180 ft), so plan for 40-60 m. Other wrecks in the rade (Wikipedia): Biscaye (ex-Gabrielle), Dalia, Diamant, Tamaya, Nord-America, Clementina, Grappler, Teresa Lo Vigo and Amélie, some much deeper. The wreck zone is a protected marine heritage site marked by four large yellow buoys: no anchoring, and use the public dive moorings (Noonsite). Most wrecks are deep, technical dives: go with a local centre (A Papa D'Lo, based at Saint-Pierre; ADE Plongée was recommended by a cruiser in 2019; Arlet centres such as O' Fil de l'Eau also run trips). The shallow Amélie wreck off Anse Turin is marked by jugs (ActiveCaptain).

Best for

Advanced and technical wreck diving with real history

Practical

Best for

Nearby