Barco C-55

The C-55, also known as the Juan de la Barrera, is a former United States and later Mexican navy minesweeper deliberately sunk off Cancun in the early 2000s to create an artificial reef. It rests off Puerto Juarez in the northern part of Quintana Roo, along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, sitting upright on a sandy bottom to a maximum depth of around 25 metres and rated an intermediate dive. Barracuda and eagle rays are regularly seen around the hull, and divers have also reported grouper, lobster, moray eels, and snapper sheltering in the wreck's structure. Coral and sponge growth typical of these artificial reef wrecks in the Cancun area covers much of the vessel, and some divers have noted strong current on the site, so conditions can vary from visit to visit.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• BarracudaBarracudaConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• LobsterLobsterReported here · unconfirmed
• Moray eelMoray eelReported here · unconfirmed
• Eagle rayEagle rayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• Atlantic Sergeant MajorAbudefduf saxatilisReported here · unconfirmed
• Green Sea TurtleChelonia mydasReported here · unconfirmed
• SnapperSnapperReported here · unconfirmed
• GrouperGrouperReported here · unconfirmed