Diving El Planchón, Providencia

What the dive at El Planchón is like

The ship lies upside down and almost whole, resting on a coral terrace at the base of the surrounding reefs. Parts of the interior can be seen through some openings, but going inside is forbidden for safety reasons: the dive consists of exploring it from the outside, slowly, seeing how the coral has gradually taken over the hull.

The story of the ship

The story goes, according to local tradition and diving guides, that during the Second World War there were ships supplying German submarines off Providencia and that one was sunk at the harbour entrance. A 2010 Scuba Diving article mentions a German tanker. We haven’t found the ship’s name or the date, so take it as a good story rather than a documented fact.

Level, depth and conditions

Here the sources disagree. One divers’ site profile puts it at less than 15 m; another gives 24 m without mentioning the ship, and one list of sites includes it as an advanced dive. The depth depends on the exact point on the route and the conditions, so the guide decides the level: in shallow water it could suit Open Water divers, but check beforehand.

Visibility in Providencia is usually 20 to 30 m and drops with swell or rain, which on a wreck really shows in your photos.

Getting to dive El Planchón

It lies at the entrance to the harbour area of Providencia, an island you reach from San Andrés. On Siete Azules trips the sites are chosen each day according to the sea, the current and the group’s level, so the wreck isn’t guaranteed. Remember to leave at least 18 hours between your last dive and your flight.