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PRESERVE & PROTECT

UCHU (Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit) and Heritage Malta have introduced a set of rules and regulations for diving historical shipwrecks, to ensure dives are managed to preserve and protect the incredible historic dive sites.

For a number of years, systematic underwater archaeological research has been conducted off the coasts of the Maltese Islands, resulting in important underwater cultural heritage being discovered, mapped and studied.

The historical wreck sites discovered range from a 2,700 year-old Phoenician shipwreck, the oldest in the central Mediterranean, to WWI battleships, and dozens of aircraft crash sites. The Government of Malta created the UCHU within Heritage Malta, which is the national agency for the management of Malta’s cultural heritage collections, sites and museums, to create underwater archaeological parks that will protect the islands’ important underwater heritage.

The protected dive sites can only be visited by arrangement with a dive centre appointed by UCHU.

TOP DIVE SITES

With over 100 dive sites it’s hard to know where to start, check out the top wrecks, caves, reefs and bucket-list dives.

TOP 5 WRECKS

The Maltese Islands are a wreck divers paradise catering to all levels, from recreational to technical divers. The position of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea has led to heavy ship traffic since the early ages. Many wrecks have also been scuttled purposely to create artificial reefs.

HMS MAORI, VALLETTA Discover HMS Maori, a 115-metre-long tribal class destroyer that was sunk in the Grand Harbor of Valletta by a German air raid attack in 1942. The wreck was raised in 1945 and the forepart of the ship was scuttled in St Elmo Bay. HMS Maori is the shallowest dive wreck in Malta with a maximum depth of 16 metres.

PATROL BOAT P31, COMINO P31 was previously an East German minesweeper that was commissioned in 1969. Following the dissolution of the East German Navy, Malta purchased the minesweeper and it was used as a patrol boat in border control operations. P31 was scuttled off Comino in 2009 and lies in bare sand at a depth of 18 metres.

MV KARWELA, GOZO Visit MV Karwela, a 58-metre tourist ferry that once toured the Grand Harbor. The Karwela was scuttled in 2006 to form an artificial reef on Gozo’s southeast coast. The wreck stands perfectly upright at a maximum depth of 40 metres. There is plenty to explore on its three decks, with the nearby reef providing an excellent continuation of your dive.

MV IMPERIAL EAGLE, QAWRA POINT The Imperial Eagle was launched in 1938 as a ferry ship between Gozo and Valletta. In 1999, the ship was scuttled 500 metres northeast of Qawra Point and was later joined by the Statue of Christ in 2000. The shipwreck currently sits perfectly upright on a sandy seabed at a depth of 42 metres.

HMS STUBBORN, ST. PAUL’S BAY Visit HMS Stubborn, a 66-metre Royal Navy submarine commissioned in 1942. The Stubborn defended British domestic waters during World War II. In 1946, the Royal Navy scuttled the Stubborn approximately 3 kilometres north east of Qawra Point. It remains upright and intact on a sandy bottom at a depth of 50 metres and is covered by hundreds of brightly colored sponges.

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