The day started out cloudy & rainy, but was very bright & sunny by the end of the first dive.
Koni Class is the NATO reporting name for an anti-submarine warfare frigate built by the Soviet Union.
On 17 September 1996, a former Cuban Navy Koni II Class frigate designated 356 was scuttled in shallow water in Cayman Brac. This ship was built in 1984 as one of three Koni II Class frigates sold to Cuba to support its Cold War fleet. In 1996, the ship was purchased from Cuba by the Cayman Islands government to be scuttled nea Cayman Brac waters as a dive attraction. The remaining two Cuban Koni II Class were expended as targets. Frigate 356 was sunk upright; initially her deck rested 90' below the surface.
Hurricane Ivan in 2004 broke the ship in two; her bow now lists at a 45-degree angle, while her midships have become a debris field. Before being sunk, the ship was renamed CAPTAIN KEITH TIBBETTS after a local politician and diver. It is one of only a few sunken Soviet Naval vessels in the Western Hemisphere, and the only one that is easily dived.
More information can be found HERE & HERE.
SCUBA TV features diving the M/V CAPTAIN KEITH TIBBETTS HERE.
Bow of M/V CAPTAIN KEITH TIBBETTS, a/k/a frigate designated 356
Bow anti-aircraft gun from above
No, not those red sponges . . . these . . .
Bow anti-aircraft gun from front
Bow Hawsehole (anchor) . . .
. . . with more red sponges
Bow anti-aircraft gun from side
Interior companionway (ship is on its side)
Interior companionway stairs (ship is on its side)
Exterior amidships torn apart by Hurricane Ivan
Amidships jet engine used only for fast propulsion;
in the engine room there are two diesels . . .
the ship had three props, one jet-driven
Interior
Interior hatch
Interior - TERESE
NEAL swims thru the remains of the deck house
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