USS Spiegel Grove
Dock Landing Ship · United States · Lost 2002 · The Florida Keys
A 510-foot Navy dock landing ship scuttled off Key Largo in 2002, once the largest vessel ever intentionally sunk as a reef.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Named for the Ohio estate of President Rutherford B. Hayes, Spiegel Grove served the Navy for over three decades before decommissioning in 1989. The Key Largo diving community spent years raising funds and cleaning the ship for reef use. Her sinking on May 17, 2002 went wrong when she flooded and rolled prematurely, drawing national television coverage; salvors finished the job weeks later. Hurricane Dennis fully righted her in 2005, and she remains one of the most-dived wrecks in the Florida Keys.
Vessel
- 1956
- LSD-32
- Ingalls Shipbuilding
- Pascagoula, Mississippi
- Steel
- 510 ft
- 84 ft
- 11525
- Steam turbines, twin screw
- United States Navy
Loss
- June 10, 2002
- Intentional sinking
- About 6 miles off Key Largo, Florida
- Straits of Florida
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 60-130
- Righted upright by Hurricane Dennis in 2005 after initially resting on its side; large, penetrable structure.
- Upright
- Not established
- Within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 25.067° N 80.306° W
- Surveyed position
- Key Largo, Florida
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (92/100)
Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)
Sinking date, depth, dimensions.
Build and service history.
