American Star

The American Star is one of the most iconic shipwrecks in the world — the ocean liner SS America, which ran aground on Fuerteventura's remote southwestern coast in January 1994 and gradually collapsed into the sea over the following years, creating a dive site of extraordinary visual impact and historical resonance. For years, the ship's bow and stern sections stood upright above the waves in the haunting image that made this wreck famous worldwide; today, the collapsed hull lies accessible to divers in the clear waters off the Jandía Peninsula's isolated western coast. The SS America had an illustrious career: launched in 1940, she was one of the United States Lines' flagship passenger vessels, serving as a troopship during World War II before returning to civilian service as one of the most elegant ships on the North Atlantic run. By 1994, sold to a Greek company and being towed to Asia to become a hotel ship, she broke free in a storm and drifted onto the rocky coastline near Punta de Jandía — one of Fuerteventura's most remote and beautiful locations. The wreck's remote setting and dramatic above-water presence made it a photographic and diving pilgrimage for years. Today the hull has collapsed significantly and the accessible sections provide a varied wreck diving experience across a wide area of the shallow to intermediate seabed. The scale of the American Star is apparent even in its collapsed state: recognisable sections of the hull, machinery, and structural elements spread across the sand and rock in the clear Atlantic water, each colonised by the encrusting marine community of Fuerteventura's productive southwestern coast. The remote location — accessible only by boat or a long hike across Fuerteventura's southern dunes — gives the dive an expedition quality that matches the wreck's dramatic history. Marine life includes the angel sharks that frequent Fuerteventura's sandy coastal waters, and the open blue of the Atlantic beyond the wreck site occasionally delivers pelagic encounters appropriate to this exposed southwestern position. A beginner-accessible dive at one of the world's most celebrated shipwreck sites.