Vanuatu
SS President Coolidge
Walk off a beach into a 22,000-ton sunken liner — hit by its own navy's mines.
You wade in from a black sand beach, and within minutes the seabed drops away to reveal the hull of a 22,000-ton luxury liner lying on its side in the clear water below. Chandeliers, gas masks, rifles, and a mosaic called 'The Lady' sit inside, undisturbed since 1942. The SS President Coolidge off Espiritu Santo is the largest easily accessible shipwreck in the world — and you enter it by walking off the shore.
The SS President Coolidge was a luxury cruise liner converted into a troop transport during the Second World War. On 26 October 1942, carrying over 5,000 American soldiers, she struck two of her own navy's mines in the approaches to Luganville harbour. The ship sank in the channel, settling in 20 to 70 metres of water just metres from shore. The wreck retained its luxury fittings — the first-class dining salon, the swimming pool, the promenade deck — alongside its wartime cargo of Jeeps, helmets, and ammunition. Dive operators based on the beach run briefings and equipment for every level, from open-water beginners exploring the upper decks to technical divers penetrating the deepest holds. Multiple dives are needed to cover the full 200-metre length; most divers return for days.
Solo
A solo diver can spend a week here and still not see every room. The wreck rewards patience and curiosity — each dive reveals a new corridor, a new artefact, a new angle of light through the portholes.
Couple
Diving through the grand salon of a sunken luxury liner together, then surfacing to grilled mahi-mahi on the beach — the contrast between the wreck's drama and Santo's calm makes the experience more vivid.
Friends
A group of divers can split across skill levels — beginners on the upper decks, advanced divers deeper into the holds — and swap stories over post-dive beers at the Luganville lodges each evening.
- You enter the water from a beach with no boat ride — within minutes you are swimming through grand dining halls and gun emplacements.
- The wreck still contains its luxury fittings: a mosaic called 'The Lady,' porcelain figures, gas masks, and racks of rifles.
- Multiple dives are needed to cover the full 200-metre length — divers return for days, each time finding a new room or passage.
- Dive operators on the shore run briefings and equipment hire for every level, from beginner open-water to technical deep diving.
Post-dive beers and freshly grilled mahi-mahi at Luganville's dive lodges as the sun drops behind Santo's peaks.
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