The SS United States, sunk in the Gulf of Mexico on 11 November 2026, is now the longest ship deliberately sunk as an artificial reef at 302 m (990 ft), ahead of the USS Oriskany (271 m) and USS Arthur W. Radford (172 m), as of November 2026. This ranks vessels sunk on purpose as reefs or dive sites by overall length; ships that sank by accident and non-ship structures such as oil platforms are left out. For ships that still sail, see The Largest Cruise Ships in the World.
Pictured: the SS United States, #1 at 302 m (990 ft), in the thumbnail of ABC7’s video of its sinking.
| Rank | Ship | Length (m) | Length (ft) | Former role | Country | Region | Year sunk | Where sunk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SS United States | 302 | 990 | Ocean liner | United States | North America | 2026 | Gulf of Mexico off Destin, Florida |
| 2 | USS Oriskany | 271 | 888 | Aircraft carrier | United States | North America | 2006 | Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola, Florida |
| 3 | USS Arthur W. Radford | 172 | 563 | Destroyer | United States | North America | 2011 | Atlantic off Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey |
| 4 | USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg | 159.4 | 523 | Missile tracking ship | United States | North America | 2009 | Off Key West, Florida |
| 5 | USS Spiegel Grove | 155.4 | 510 | Amphibious ship | United States | North America | 2002 | Dixie Shoal off Key Largo, Florida |
| 6 | HMAS Adelaide | 138.1 | 453 | Frigate | Australia | Oceania | 2011 | Off Avoca Beach, New South Wales |
| 7 | HMAS Hobart | 134 | 440 | Destroyer | Australia | Oceania | 2002 | Yankalilla Bay, South Australia |
| 7 | HMAS Perth | 134 | 440 | Destroyer | Australia | Oceania | 2001 | King George Sound off Albany, Western Australia |
| 9 | HMAS Brisbane | 133 | 437 | Destroyer | Australia | Oceania | 2005 | Off Mudjimba, Queensland |
| 10 | HMAS Tobruk | 127 | 417 | Amphibious ship | Australia | Oceania | 2018 | Off Hervey Bay, Queensland |
| 11 | HMCS Saskatchewan | 111.6 | 366 | Destroyer | Canada | North America | 1997 | Off Nanaimo, British Columbia |
| 11 | HMCS Mackenzie | 111.6 | 366 | Destroyer | Canada | North America | 1995 | Georgia Strait off Sidney, British Columbia |
| 13 | USCGC Duane | 99.7 | 327 | Cutter | United States | North America | 1987 | Off Key Largo, Florida |
| 13 | USCGC Bibb | 99.7 | 327 | Cutter | United States | North America | 1987 | Off Key Largo, Florida |
No matching rows.
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View ranking →Overall length in metres and feet, as of November 2026. This is not a complete list of every ship sunk as a reef: it covers deliberately scuttled ships whose length could be checked on their own Wikipedia page, so a few other reef ships (for example the Kittiwake and Texas Clipper) are not ranked. Every length comes from the ship’s own Wikipedia infobox, except the SS United States, where Wikipedia and AP both give 990 ft.[1][3] Metres and feet are as given, converted from one to the other where the page rounds oddly (USS Spiegel Grove). Lengths differ slightly between sources (AP gives 911 ft for the Oriskany against Wikipedia’s 888 ft), so ties and close calls can shift. Rules: only vessels intentionally scuttled as reefs or dive sites count; ships that sank by accident are excluded, and so are vessels whose figures could not be checked. Ships tied on rounded length share a rank. Depths are quoted in the write-ups only where a source gives them, so there is no depth column. The list stops at 14, the rows we could verify from one source family.
The ocean liner was sunk on 11 November 2026 in the Gulf of Mexico about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Destin, Okaloosa County, Florida, and settled upright in about 180 ft (55 m) of water, with its top deck about 60 ft (18 m) below the surface.[1][2] At 990 ft it is 108 ft longer than the Titanic and about 79 ft longer than the former record holder, the USS Oriskany.[1] The video is ABC7’s report on the sinking.
The Essex-class aircraft carrier was sunk by the Navy on 17 May 2006 about 24 miles (39 km) south of Pensacola, Florida, in about 210 ft (64 m) of water, using roughly 500 lb (230 kg) of C-4; she went down stern first in 37 minutes and rests upright.[4] Wikipedia lists 888 ft, while AP gives 911 ft (278 m); RList uses the single Wikipedia figure for every ship.[1][4] The video is War History Online’s clip of the sinking.
The Spruance-class destroyer (DD-968) was sunk on 10 August 2011 about 30 nautical miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, as part of the Delaware reef system; she measures 529 ft at the waterline and 563 ft overall.[5] The video is WHYY’s report.
Built as a General G. O. Squier-class troop transport and converted into a missile range instrumentation ship used to track ballistic missile tests, she was scuttled on 27 May 2009 off Key West in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, in about 140 ft (43 m) of water.[6][3] The video is the Key West Citizen’s footage of the sinking.
The Thomaston-class dock landing ship (LSD-32) sank on 17 May 2002 on Dixie Shoal off Key Largo, about six hours earlier than planned, and rolled over; a later storm surge righted her. Her top deck lies about 60 ft (18 m) down and the hull reaches 135 ft (41 m).[7] Wikipedia gives 510 ft with a rounded metric figure of 160 m; 510 ft converts to 155.4 m. The video is South Florida Reporter’s film of divers marking the 20th anniversary.
The lead ship of the Adelaide-class guided missile frigates was scuttled on 13 April 2011 about 1.7 km off Avoca Beach, New South Wales, in 32 m (105 ft) of water.[8] The video is the dive team’s film of the sinking.
The Perth-class guided missile destroyer was sunk on 5 November 2002 in Yankalilla Bay, South Australia, about 4.8 nautical miles from Marina St Vincent; Wikipedia gives 440 ft 3 in overall, shown here to the same 440 ft as HMAS Perth, so the two share rank 7.[8] The video is from the Underwater Sports Diving Centre.
Sister ship to HMAS Hobart, she was sunk on 24 November 2001 off Albany, Western Australia, as a dive wreck.[8] The video is a viewer upload of the sinking, not a broadcaster’s.
The third Perth-class destroyer was scuttled on 31 July 2005 about 2.8 nautical miles off Mudjimba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, in 27 m (89 ft) of water.[8] The video is dive footage of the wreck, not the sinking.
The modified Round Table-class landing ship was scuttled on 29 June 2018 between Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, Queensland, but rolled onto its side instead of settling upright, which limits dive access.[8] The video is a camera mounted on the ship as it went down, uploaded by a viewer.
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