The Wit Sinks in Belize: The Caribbean’s Newest Wreck Dive

by Carolee Chanona December 14, 2021

written by Carolee Chanona

If it’s wreck diving you want, then the 16-chamber ship The Wit, Turneffe officially joins as one of the largest wreck dive sites in the Caribbean. As of 3:12 pm on December 10, 2021, the 375-foot Witconcrete sunk to the ocean floor of the Soldier Caye Conservation Zone of the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve. As a once operational sugar transportation ship turned first artificial reef and newest dive destination in Belize, dive discoveries just got even sweeter.

First slated to sink in the month of September, the 375-foot Witconcrete Vessel is now successfully located 0.75 miles northeast from Blackbird Caye Dive Resort in The Oasis dive site.

About The Witconcrete

Valdemar Andrade (TASA) and Garen Simonyan (Blackbird Resort)

Joining the same destiny as its sister ship also in the Caribbean, Wit Concrete II—sunk in the US Virgin Islands in 1995—Belize’s newest treasure is sure to have tales of its own soon. Strategically, the Wit was strategically submerged in a sandy location within the Soldier Caye Conservation Area; locally known as “the oasis,” the location eliminates any coral reef impact. Over the years, marine flora and fauna will fill the walls, rooms, and cabins with a different kind of history—cementing itself as a one-of-a-kind dive destination in our underwater landscape.

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Diving The Wit. Image via Emil Magana

Built between 1942 and 1944, the once-operational ship was used for sugar transportation around the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard of the US; most recently, Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. (BSI), who gifted her to Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association (TASA) in May 2021, used the Wit for molasses storage.

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Within, its impressive 16-chambers and easy-to-access compartments are diver-friendly; walls are widened with additional access points. This project was led by Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association (TASA) in collaboration with Blackbird Caye Dive Resort and Blue Finance, with support from the Ministry of Blue Economy & Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Tourism & Diaspora Relations. Park entrance funds assist in TASA’s operations and other programs in the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve.

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Curious sharks eye divers. Image courtesy Bill Carmella/Splash Dive Center

Header photo courtesy Emil Magana. All others not captioned via Beth Watson/Facebook

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Carolee Chanona

Editor, copywriter, and staycation advocate by trade, Carolee Chanona brings an incurable case of Belizean wanderlust to the Caribbean Lifestyle team. With a formal background in Environmental Policy and an informal one in culinary kitchens, every Belizean experience told through the eyes of this local includes memorable experiences in the places she loves most. Lover of both adventure holidays and quiet beachside escapes, Carolee especially enjoys destinations explored off the beaten path in Belize—traversed on an oxygen tank or in her handy-dandy hiking boots.