Algarve · Portugal · Wreck · Artificial reef
NRP Hermenegildo Capelo
A Portuguese Navy frigate, 102.7 m, sunk in 30 m off Portimão
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0
A João Belo-class frigate launched at Nantes in 1966 and stricken from Portuguese Navy service in 2004. She was stripped and decontaminated for the Ocean Revival project and sunk in 2013 in 30 m of water off Portimão, one of four navy ships put down on the stretch of coast between Portimão and Alvor. She is a large hull at a recreational depth, and one dive covers a fraction of her.
Also known as NRP Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo, F481.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Algarve and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
Boats run out of the marina at Portimão for a short trip offshore and tie into a mooring, so you descend a line onto a fixed point of the ship rather than search for her across open ground. She is 102.7 m long with a beam of 11.7 m, and at that scale she resolves in pieces: whatever the mooring lands you on first, then the run of the deck disappearing ahead of you. Pick one end and work along it, because there is no seeing the whole hull on a single tank.
The frigate was stripped and decontaminated before she went down in 2013, so what you swim over is bare steel and structure rather than a ship's fittings. The seabed is at 30 m and that governs the dive: nitrox and a planned working depth buy the bottom time, and the descent line doubles as the way back up. She is one of four navy vessels sunk between Portimão and Alvor, and centres normally pair her with a smaller hull across a two-tank morning.
The wreck
- Vessel
- NRP Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo (F481)
- Type
- João Belo-class frigate
- Length
- 102.7 m (337 ft)
- Built
- 1966
- Sunk
- 2013
- Cause
- Scuttled as an artificial reef for the Ocean Revival project
- Lies
- Sunk in 30 m of water off Portimão
Built by Ateliers et chantiers de Bretagne at Nantes and launched on 29 November 1966, she was one of four frigates in a class based on the French Commandant Rivière design but modified for tropical service in support of Portuguese colonial operations. She served as F481 until she was stricken from the fleet in April 2004, then lay at the Lisbon Naval Base until she was chosen as a hull for the Ocean Revival project, stripped and decontaminated, and sunk off Portimão in 2013.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Algarve: May–Oct is the settled season with the clearest water; Atlantic swell and cold water shut most operations over winter.
Dive videos
Ocean Revival - Fragata Hermenegildo Capelo · Tiago Reis on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Hermenegildo Capelo?+
She was sunk in 30 m of water off Portimão, so 30 m is the seabed depth alongside her and the deepest point of the dive.
What certification do I need?+
Advanced or equivalent, because the seabed alongside the wreck is at 30 m. Any penetration of the ship needs wreck training on top of that.
Sources
- João Belo-class frigate — Wikipedia
- List of ships of the Portuguese Navy — Wikipedia
- Sinking ships for wreck diving sites — Wikipedia
- Portimão — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- Bow of the grey frigate NRP Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo with hull number F481 painted on the side, moored at a quay by Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- How a dive computer calculates no-stop timeBody & health · 10 min read
- Air, nitrox or trimix: which gas, and when?Gear & kit · 15 min read
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