Captain Tibbetts

MV Captain Keith Tibbetts is an iconic dive in the Cayman Islands. The artificial reef rests along the northwest coast of Cayman Brac, and is also referred to as the Russian Destroyer or Russian Destroyer #356. It was originally built by the USSR for service in the Cuban Navy as a 330-foot-long (100-meter) Russian Brigadier Type II Class frigate. The vessel was eventually sold to the Cayman Islands government to be deployed as an artificial reef in September 1996 and named in honor of a local dive operator. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan broke the wreck into two large sections and scattered debris around the site. The Tibbetts, as she is known for short, makes for a fantastic wreck dive despite there being no penetration opportunities. The frigate's gun turrets are still in place and the collapsing wreck has created plenty of complex habitat to explore. While corals and sponges have colonized the wreck's surfaces, it is the structure and origin of the vessel that make this a dive site worth visiting.