Malta's wrecks, from the P31 to technical diving

Talk of wrecks in Malta mixes up two worlds worth keeping apart. On one side, old ships sunk deliberately for divers to explore. On the other, wrecks from both world wars, protected as heritage, most of them at technical-diving depths. Knowing which world you’re in saves a lot of disappointment.

Ships scuttled for divers

The Ministry for Gozo explains that decommissioned ships have been scuttled off Gozo’s south coast, near Comino’s Blue Lagoon and near Malta’s north coast, and that one was sunk in shallow water specifically for less experienced divers. That’s the P31.

The P31 was built in the 1960s in the former East Germany as a Kondor-class minesweeper. It’s 52 metres long and served as a patrol boat for the Armed Forces of Malta from the mid-1990s until 2004. It was scuttled for divers in 2009 and sits upright on sand at no more than 20 metres. The official profile calls it ideal for Open Water divers, and for me it’s the best first wreck in the country.

Off Gozo’s south-east coast, a short distance from one another, are three more. The Karwela, a 58-metre former tourist ferry from the Grand Harbour, was scuttled in August 2006 and sits upright, with three decks from 30 metres and the seabed at 40 to 42. The Cominoland, 39 metres long, once ran day trips round Comino and went down the same month; it starts at 32 metres and reaches 40. And the Ix-Xlendi, an 80-metre ro-ro sunk in 1999, landed upside down with its upper section crushed. The Ministry for Gozo advises against going inside because it’s very unstable.

Heritage Malta’s underwater sites

Heritage Malta protects 18 underwater sites, wrecks from both wars plus the Xlendi archaeological park, and opens them through approved dive centres. Its profiles tell stories that stay with you. The submarine HMS Olympus struck a mine shortly after leaving Valletta, and of the 98 men aboard, nine survived. The battleship HMS Russell hit a mine on 27 April 1916 and lies upside down as a war grave. The French liner SS Polynesien, 152.5 metres long, was torpedoed on 10 August 1918 a few kilometres off Malta.

The catch, for most people, is depth. Of those with a published figure, the shallowest is the JU88 bomber off Salina Bay, at 55 metres. The Fairey Swordfish biplane lies at 65, the destroyer HMS Southwold at 70 and 72, the Qala Spitfire at 72 and the Polish destroyer ORP Kujawiak at 97. The 7th-century BC Phoenician wreck off Xlendi, with its amphorae, sits between 108 and 112 metres. All of that is technical diving. The wartime background is in my guide to Malta in World War 2.

One date turns up in two profiles and says a lot about Valletta’s approaches in the First World War. On 27 April 1916 both the battleship HMS Russell and the minesweeper HMS Nasturtium, the latter off St Elmo, went down on mines. A German submarine had laid them outside the entrance to the Grand Harbour two days earlier. Another small ship, the drifter HMS Trusty Star, kept the harbour open as a minesweeper during the Second World War until a mine sank her about 3 km off Fort St Elmo; only one Maltese seaman was hurt.

Which wreck can I dive?

It depends on your qualification, and the Maltese rules help you decide. According to the Ministry for Gozo, you can only dive independently with a qualification rated to 30 metres; otherwise you go with a licensed instructor. With Open Water, your wreck is the P31. With Advanced and some experience, the Karwela and Cominoland, always with a centre that knows the site. The Xlendi, from the outside and with care. And for Heritage Malta’s sites, technical training and an authorised centre.

Everything on licences, the medical questionnaire and choosing a centre is in my guide to diving in Malta.

Planning it

The recreational wrecks are in Gozo and Comino waters, so I’d either stay on Gozo for a few days or cross from Ċirkewwa. The Gozo Channel ferry takes about 25 minutes and you pay on the way back. For Comino, the options are in my guide to the Comino ferry. And keep to a rule that isn’t written in any profile but seems obvious to me on a war grave. Look, don’t touch.