Ex-USS Kittiwake ASR 13 - Chanticleer Class Submarine Rescue Ship ASR
Built by: Savannah Machinery and Foundary Co of Savannah, Georgia, USA
Keel Laid: 5th January 1945
Launched: 10th July 1945
Commissioned: 16th July 1945
Decommissioned: 30th September 1994
Displacement: 2290 TONS
Dimensions: 251 Ft Length - 42 Ft Beam - 15 Ft Draft
Machinery: Diesel Electric Propulsion - 1 Shaft - 3000 BHP for 15 Kts
Complement: 85 Officers and Sailors
This is an underwater Geocache and you will need to be SCUBA certified or able to free-dive to 40 feet.
The KITTIWAKE is an intact wreck that was sunk in 2011.
This Geocache is dedicated to Ryan Craig and others who lost their life at sea.
Ex-USS Kittiwake:
The ex-USS Kittiwake was a Submarine Rescue vessel (ASR-13). She was part of the 6th Submarine squadron (SUBRON 6) home ported at the Destroyer-Submarine piers in Norfolk, VA.
History:
She was built by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co. (Savanna, Georgia), awarded May 11, 1944 near the end of WWII, launched July 10, 1945 and commissioned July 18, 1946.
The Kittiwake had an illustrious service for over 54 years, being decommissioned September 30, 1994. After being laid up by the US Navy for 6 years, the Kittiwake was transferred to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) in March of 2000. From 2000 - 2009, she resided at the James River Reserve Fleet in Fort Eustis, Virginia (Norfolk area).
MARAD issued an invitation to both US and International applicants to apply for the donation of a ship for the purposes of artificial reefing in 2004, and the Cayman Islands applied for a ship. The Cayman Islands was approved as the pilot project for the “donation of a ship from MARAD to a foreign Government for the purposes of artificial reefing”.
The Kittiwake was transferred from MARAD to the Cayman Islands Government in August 2009 and was cleaned and remediated in Norfolk, Virginia to become an artificial reef. This included substantial work including the removal of all hazardous materials (like pcb's, asbestos, mercury, cabling, wires, oils, lubricants and a very long list). Additionally, all thin or loose materials that could break off during or soon after sinking were removed. The Kittiwake is possibly the 'cleanest' wreck even to be sunk as an artificial reef.
