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, so 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
Great Barracuda
Nurse Shark
Caribbean Reef Shark
Spinner Dolphin
Humpback Whale
Green Sea Turtle
Southern Stingray
Porcupinefish
Also recorded nearby
"Charted here" species were listed by our editors from the sources on this page. Counts are GBIF occurrence records: observations logged within about 5 km of the charted position since 1990, matched only against the species in our catalogue. They show what has been seen there, not a promise of what you will see.
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ (editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting)