The Peninsula & Oriental Passenger Steamer "Carnatic" was built by Samuda Bros of London and classified as an "iron framed planked passenger steamer of 1776 tons." Her dimensions were 89.8m x 11.6m with a draught of 7.8m. In addition to square-rigged sails, she was powered by a single 4 cylinder compound inverted engine which produced a very handsome 2,442 hp - also built in London, by Humphrys and Tennant.

The Carnatic was launched in December 1862 and registered by P & O (although that abbreviation was not used in those days) in March 1863. She then sailed for Calcutta on June 27th whereupon she was employed between Suez, Bombay and China.

In 1867 the Carnatic became the proud command of Captain P. B. Jones - one of the ablest officers of thecompany.

The most incredible part of this entire shipwreck is that, whilst the ship went to the bottom in two separate halves, those two halves then fell together on the seabed - just as they might have done had the ship gone down as one piece.

Today the Carnatic is found at the base of the Reef and lies parallel to it.

She is on her port side with the bows facing east.There are three distinct elements to this dive; The fore and aft sections are still largely intact and are joined together by the most damaged area where the ship was broken and the engine room was located.

It is 25-27m to the seabed and 18-20m to the upper (starboard) side throughout the dive. The wooden superstructure and planking has long-since rotted away - leaving a steel hull held together by iron supports and cross-members. With the decking gone, Divers are able to explore down to two deck levels within the wreck itself.

At the Bows is the large copper ring that once held the bowsprit. This lies just behind the curved metal bowsprit support - underneath which was once the figurehead. When viewed from ahead, it is easy to see the Carnatic’s fine, sleek lines - even today. From the Bows the ship gently widens to the main body where, on both sides, lifeboat davits are found and all swung out. From here the Diver can enter the vessel and swim between the iron supports - a fascinating encounter with a vessel built in 1862!

Emerging from the forward section, the Diver then encounters the most severely damaged part of the wreck. Although it is really a pile of scrap metal, it does, provide plenty of scope for investigation - after all, there is a "4 cylinder compound inverted engine" still in there - somewhere.
For most Divers, the stern is the most exciting and interesting part of the entire wreck.  Similar to the Bows, lifeboat davits are found on both sides and the Diver is able to swim into the wreck down to two levels.  Deep inside there is still some very old barrels and I can only wonder what they once contained that proved to be such a fine "wood preservative" - Brandy perhaps? 

To discover the finest aspect of the entire vessel, however, the Diver must exit the wreck and swim round to the stern. This is a finely moulded stern with a single row of seven square windows facing aft. It really is reminiscent of something from Nelson’s day - and provides a fascinating insight into how traditional styles of building wooden ships were adapted for steel construction. Below the windows, the stern curves gently downwards and inwards to reveal a magnificent rudder and the one feature that certainly was never a part of that earlier era - a large three-bladed propeller.
After such a long time underwater, it is fairly safe to assume the Carnatic will remain pretty much as she is for the foreseeable future. She is well colonised by coral, soft corals and her own indigenous population of Reef Fishes which include Grouper and Lionfish. Altogether, this is probably one of the finest examples of a ship of her time to be found underwater anywhere in the world - and for that alone she is well worth the visit.