Corveta Ipiranga (V17)
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily — treat everything here as planning ranges.
The Brazilian Navy corvette Ipiranga (V17) struck rocks and sank off Noronha in 1983, settling upright and startlingly intact on a sand plain around 60 m down. In the archipelago's clear water she appears whole from far above: guns trained, masts standing, companionways open, a warship paused rather than lost. The crew abandoned ship successfully, so she is dived without the weight of a grave, but with every demand of depth - this is a staged-decompression dive for trained technical divers with proper gas, run by operators equipped for it. Reef sharks and barracuda patrol the superstructure, and the light at 60 m in 30 m visibility is something recreational profiles simply never show.
The moment you come for: An intact upright warship in exceptional visibility, one of South America's benchmark technical dives
Topography: Sand and rock plain around an upright warship
Know before you splash
Hazards: Depth beyond recreational limits, mandatory decompression, current on the ascent line.
Conservation: Within the marine national park; nothing may be removed from the wreck.
Nitrox: Worth it here — profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
Caribbean Reef Shark
Great Barracuda
Nurse Shark
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ — editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting