The Captain Keith Tibbetts

The MV Captain Keith Tibbetts was built in the Soviet Union in 1984 as a Koni-class frigate, served with the Cuban navy, and after the Soviet collapse was bought by the Cayman government and sunk off Cayman Brac in 1996 as a dive attraction. She lies in about twenty metres, broken in two after hurricane damage, with the gun turrets still on the deck and the superstructure open. She is the only Soviet-built warship divable in the western hemisphere, which is the reason people come, and the coral growth on her after nearly three decades has turned the metal into reef.

What you actually see

• The gun turrets - still on the deck, now coral-covered.
• The broken hull - split in two by hurricane damage.
• The superstructure - open and swimmable in places.
• The coral growth - nearly three decades of colonisation.

When to go

November to May is the calmest and clearest. Trips run from the island's dive operations. The wreck sits at twenty metres, well within recreational limits, and is suitable for anyone with open water certification.

Honest expectations

Storm damage has broken her up considerably since she was sunk and she is less intact than older descriptions suggest. Penetration is overhead environment and should be treated as such. Getting to Cayman Brac at all means a flight and there are only a handful of dive operations. The wreck is a single dive, not a destination in itself.

Nearby

The Brac's north shore dive sites are alongside; Little Cayman is fifteen minutes by air.