USS Oriskany

Located in 212 feet of water this 888 foot U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier is about 22 miles offshore of Pensacola. Carefully prepared with large entry holes and well cleaned, she settled upright in water with superb visibility. Excellent site for the Advanced Wreck Diver/Technical Diver the site offers fantastic underwater photography opportunities. Although some of the superstructure and flight deck are within sport diver limits at about 130 feet – it is still considered an advanced dive site. The USS Oriskany was sunk on May 17, 2006 and in February 2009 having its story documented on National Geographic “The Sinking of the Oriskany”, this is the world’s largest created artificial reef. The first warship to be sunk in a program using old naval ships as artificial reefs, the total cost of the operation ran to about 20 million dollars. Often called the “Great Carrier Reef” it provides a habitat for marine life and a great eco-tourism boost for the area. Advanced divers and Certified Wreck Divers only due to depth and access to the interior of the wreck.