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Sea Tiger
 Honolulu, HI
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Max Depth: 121-130ft/37-40m
Average Viz: 71-80ft/22-24m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Plenty To See
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Rating: 3.95 by 41 divers
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Sea Tiger is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in Honolulu, HI. This dive site has an average rating of 3.95 out of 5 from 41 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 121-130ft/37-40m. The average visibility is 71-80ft/22-24m.
The Sea Tiger is the deepest regularly dove wreck in Hawaii. Over 45m (150ft) long, this wreck has two stories about how it came to rest here in a protected area off Waikiki. The first is she was a forcibly retired smuggling vessel, and the second most realistic one is she was sunk in 1999 by a local company as an artificial reef. Chances are the company who sank her started the smuggling vessel rumours to help boost trade, either way it is a very nice wreck to dive. (or another option... both stories are accurate and the Coast Guard sold the seized boat to the submarine company to sink for their tour)
She can often still be accessed when other dive sites are washed out due to weather often found in these waters.
The Sea Tigers’ top deck is found at 30m (100 ft) and the wheel house at 21m (70 ft). You can venture down further as the wreck is resting on the sand bed at 36m (120 ft).
White spotted eagle rays, large puffer fish, filefish and an occasional frog fish are the most commonly sighted animals on this wreck, with the occasion chance of seeing passing dolphins. There is a resident sea turtle hanging out there too.
From SportDiver magazine;
“Some wrecks are twisted metal, and the entries and exits precarious — I love the Sea Tiger because it has none of that,” Lewis Heuermann, PADI IDC Staff Instructor for Dive Oahu, says of this artificial reef, sunk in 1999. Wreck-specialty students must map a wreck, navigate the exterior and, if they choose, explore the interior. “The Sea Tiger makes all those skills very easy and very accessible to most divers,” says Heuermann. He takes his students to the bridge, cabins and cargo holds. “The cargo holds are easy to drop into, then swim around and swim out vertically without navigating any passageways.” Plus, it’s here that Heuermann watches his students’ eyes light up as the wreck’s history flickers to life. The Sea Tiger had several lives, including illegally transporting immigrants from China before the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society bought it to aid in the fight against drift-diving fishermen. “When you see a ship from the outside, it’s like seeing the tip of the iceberg,” Heuermann says. “Only from the inside does the whole story come together.”