Naufrágio Parnaioca

The Parnaioca is a steel-hulled steam cargo ship about 103 m long, whose real name is unknown. The name comes from the place where it lies, Ponta Alta da Parnaioca. After more than 40 years of research, the ship's identity remains a mystery.

Its identification as the steamer Japurá is disputed, because the wreckage appears to be from a newer ship, and the Japurá reportedly sank in 1901, about 25 miles from Ilha Grande. One hypothesis still under study and without official confirmation is that it is the former steamer Iguassú, ex-Santa Rosa of Hamburg-Süd, about 107 m long, used as a towed pontoon and lost near Ilha Grande in 1951. The date of the sinking is also uncertain: some accounts place it in the 1940s or 1950s, with no primary reference, and the ship's construction is estimated between the late 19th and early 20th century.

Beneath the capsized hull lie the two double-furnace boilers, the steam engines and the dynamos, and the mast with its top, the rudder, the winch and the bollards can still be seen. There is no propeller among the wreckage. Large fish, such as groupers, often frequent the wreck. In the Ilha Grande area, winter, from May to August, tends to bring colder water without a thermocline, while in summer, from December to March, the thermocline tends to be more pronounced.