Location

You can enter this site via kalkara Creek which is directly between Vittoriosa and Kalkara. You can access the dive via Vitoriosa Quay and tunnel to the creek. You will find parking next to the swings situated near by. You will find the entrance from the wall. When you have entered the water simply swim out in line with the old lift shaft on the far side. You will find the wreck in the mid channel.

Conditions

The dive is fairly sheltered in the inner creek of the Grand Harbour , There is a thin line of silt covering everything and if this is disturbed the visibility will drop to zero..

Average depth 20M - 66 feet
Maximum depth 24M - 77 feet
Average visibility 6M - 20feet

The steam freighter MV Odile was bombed during World War II ,
then salvaged in the 1970s . You will find the wreck fairly well
broken up. The bows and the propeller are still missing, facing
northwest and lying on her port side, in poor visibility the wreck is very hard to find hence the need not to unsettle the silt that lays on the sea bed. We recommend that only experienced divers actually penetrate the wreck as proper equipment including reels are needed. Swimming the entire wreck takes around 40 minutes.
This is a dive when the north westerly winds spoil the other side
of the island.

Location

You will find this vessel on the corner of the fish market at
Valletta, Grand Harbour.

Access

To access this dive take the steps in font of the fish market
with a surface swim of around 90m

Conditions

You will find that the site is fairly sheltered with visibility
variable over a rocky weed substrate.

Average depth 10m
Maximum depth 18m
Average visibility 6m

During World War II a rough cutting in the rocks here was roposed as a submarine pen, but the project was abandoned. Torches are recommended on this dive to explore the cut and various crevices, now home to seahorses, shannies , triplefin blennies and various scorpion fish. The seabed is littered with war debris.

 

Location

Entrance to the Grand Harbor

Access

To access this site go to Kalkara to the wartime buildings below
Fort Ricasola. This can be reached via the foothpath from the
car park at the fort.

Conditions

Within this site you have to take extra care as large ships pass
regularly and other marine traffic.This results in the site being
exposed to northeasterly swells and wind.

Average depth 13 to 15 m
Maximum depth 18M
Visibility 6-10M

Simply enter the water near the buildings at the waters edge and
swim to the near end of the breakwater on the surface , at about
100m then submerge and follow the due north setting on your
compass for about 30 minutes. You will find that the seabed is
mainly flat sand and rubble though with some interesting boulders
and marine life. You will only see the bow sectionof the ship as
that is all that remains after the Jersey hit a mine and sank to
the bottom as it entered the Grand Harbour.

Location

You will find the entrance In front of the café at the entrance to the
dockyard creek at St. Elmos Bay.

Access

In front of the café you will find steps and a concret walkway. Then simply go 120 m north and a 5min swim before descending onto the wreck at the edge of the drop.

Conditions

At this dive site you will find that the visibility can be a problem this is definitely so during a storm.

Average depth 13m
Maximum depth 18m
Average visibility 6m

HMS Maori was launched in 1937. The vessel was a member of many campaigns including the Norwegian campaign, Atlantic convoys and the Mediterranean. She was ultimately responsible for sinking the Bismark and picked up a number of her survivors ; while en route from Gibraltar the Maori was also involved in a successful attack against the Italian flotilla. It was though very common for ships berthed at Malta to be under attack from bombers within aerial attacks from Libya. On the 12 February 1942 the Maori received a direct hit in her engine room and the ship slowly began to sink. She was later declared a sea hazard to navigation and as a result her guns were removed and the ship wrecked. The bows and the entire stem are gone , but part of the raised bridge is still there and from the rear , divers are able to gain relatively safe and easy access to her remains, with exits through the large holes in her starboard side. Around the wreckage there
can still be found live shells which obviously should not be ouched. Also one can find the presence of many marine life.

Location

Opposite the old hospital on Manoel island at the start of Lazzaretto creek in Marsamxett harbour.

Access

Use the shore next to the dogs home or you can use the steps near the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

Conditions

As it is the Harbour it is fairly sheltered, but suffers from easterly storms and high rainfall , this reduces the underwater visibility.

Average depth 12m
Maximum depth 22m
Average visibility 6m

The carolita barge received a torpedo in her stern on the night of 21 April 1942 as it was probably mistaken for a submarine. As a result she sank immediately and now faces up the steep slope facing the old naval hospital. At 6m you can see the bow and the rear of the ship is found at 22 m.- one can attempt to go deeper to view more but visibility is reduced greatly in a short period of time. On the deck which is flat are two hatches up front. Access in these is restricted. Access to the engine room is from beneath the bridge or in through the damaged stern. At the stern you will find many
marine life especially striped grouper. People have also found remenants from the war days in the shape of old typewriters , beds and other oddities discarded from the nearby old hospital.