Description: The MV Castor is a 258 feet long by 37 feet wide Dutch freighter. The bow points south. Over the years the ship has been broken up by hurricanes the stern section containing most of the house structure has rolled on it’s starboard side. The deck is 95-100 feet and the bow rises to about 80 feet.  Adorned by orange cup corals and sponges, the Castor is one of the most colorful wrecks on the Palm Beach Coast. The Castor is home to a community of Goliath Groupers. However, beginning the end of July during spawning season the numbers can reach 100! The Castor is home to one of the larges aggregations in the State of Florida, making it a must see for divers. Small bait fish called Scab come in schools large enough to shroud most of the wreck. They come to feed on the eggs released by the giant groupers during spawning, the scad in turn become prey for schools of Jacks and Barracuda, a photographer’s dream!

History: The ship was built in 1970 at the Bodewes shipyard, Martenshoek, Netherlands. Upon its completion in 1970 originally called M/V Dorothee Bos, the ship was used for cargo and supplies until 1988. Under a new name of M/V Mer Star, the captain and the crew embarked from Spain to Mobile, Alabama and remained working within the Caribbean waters for the last twelve years with several different names. In 1999 the M/V Castor was seized by U.S. Customs agents after being stopped by the Coast Guard carrying 10,127 pounds of cocaine hidden in brown sugar bags.  On December 14, 2001 the ship was sunk by Palm Beach County to be part of the Artificial Reef Program.