Reefwander
White limestone cliffs of Bonifacio above turquoise water and rocky shallows

Corsica · France · Wreck

La Pinella

A 45 m cement ship on sand, deck at 6 m

Area photo: Reustli · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Pinella lies near the Pecorella lighthouse at the exit of the gulf of Porto-Vecchio: a 45 m cement ship resting on a sandy seabed, its deck at around 6 m and the maximum depth 12 m. The catalogue rates it as accessible to beginners and experienced divers alike, which the published depth range bears out.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of La Pinella: typical dive 6–12 m (20–40 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit6 m12 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

41.6213° N, 9.3702° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The wreck sits on sand at the mouth of the gulf of Porto-Vecchio, near the Pecorella lighthouse, with the deck at around 6 m and nothing deeper than 12 m anywhere on the site. That is a rare combination for a ship of this size: 45 m of hull that you can circle more than once on a single tank without ever leaving the safety-stop band.

Start at one end and swim the length of the hull along the sand, then come back over the deck at 6 m, which is where the light is and where the shape of the ship reads best. Because the profile is so flat, the limit on this dive is gas rather than no-decompression time, so a long slow lap is the right way to work it.

The catalogue lists it as accessible to beginners and experienced divers alike, and the shallow deck is what makes that true: a newly certified diver can dive it as a swim-around, while anyone with wreck training has a whole hull to work along. Sand means silt, so keep off the bottom or the divers behind you will see nothing.

The wreck

Vessel
La Pinella
Type
Cement carrier
Length
45 m (148 ft)
Cause
Not published in any source found for this site
Lies
Resting on a sandy seabed, deck at around 6 m and the maximum depth 12 m

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for La Pinella
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Off-seasonFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairOff-season

Season follows Corsica: Operators run Apr–Oct with July and August warmest; the Bouches de Bonifacio funnel wind and can close the crossing at short notice.

Questions divers ask

Is La Pinella a beginner wreck dive?+

The catalogue lists it as accessible to beginners and experienced divers alike. The deck lies at around 6 m and the sandy seabed at a maximum of 12 m, so the whole dive stays within Open Water depth limits.

Sources

  1. La pinella — Scubago

More dive sites in Corsica

Pinnacle

The sec du Pelu, renamed for the groupers that hold on it

17–30 m · max 35 mintermediate

Rock formations and faults on ground from 5 to 30 metres

5–30 mintermediate

Stepped plateaus at 6 to 20 metres off a bird-sanctuary island

6–20 mintermediate

Similar dives elsewhere

Wreck

Mesudiye

Gallipoli · Turkey

The ironclad torpedoed by submarine B11, in about 12 m

to 12 mintermediate

Wreck

Africa Shipwreck

Milos & Kimolos · Greece

Engine and machinery exposed inside a wave-broken cargo boat

to 10 madvanced

Wreck

Relitto di Pomonte (Elviscot)

Elba & the Tuscan Archipelago · Italy

A 62 m freighter on her side in 2–12 m, swum to from Pomonte beach

2–12 mbeginner

Wreck

La Citerne

Palavas-les-Flots, Carnon & Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone · France

A hollow 12 m cistern alone on the sand at 11 m

9–12 mbeginner