Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras

Halliburton Wreck

The Halliburton is a 30-meter cargo freighter intentionally sunk in 1998 off Utila's south shore to create the island's flagship wreck dive. The ship sits upright on a sandy plateau in 30 meters of water with the deck at roughly 24 meters and the top of the wheelhouse around 18 meters, making the upper structures accessible to advanced open-water divers and the holds and engine room to certified wreck divers. The hull is heavily encrusted with hard corals, encrusting sponges and hydroids and shelters resident green moray, large grouper, schools of horse-eye jack, blackbar soldierfish, queen triggerfish and dense glassy sweeper aggregations during summer. Hawksbill turtles and the occasional spotted eagle ray are seen on the wreck or in the surrounding water column. Conditions are typically calm year-round with 18 to 25 meters of visibility; the depth limits the dive to a single bottom-time slot.