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Two low, pale limestone islets on a dark blue sea under scattered white clouds, seen from a rocky white shore — Dubrovnik & the Elafiti Islands

Dubrovnik & the Elafiti Islands · Croatia · Wreck

Taranto Wreck

A Rotterdam-built cargo ship lost in 1943 off the Grebeni islets

Area photo: Alexey Komarov · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Taranto is an Italian trading vessel built in Rotterdam in 1899 that the Italian navy took over in the Second World War to carry military provisions. She lies in front of the Grebeni islets, half a mile west of Dubrovnik, and is a deep dive for advanced divers who want a war-era hull close to the city.

Also known as Taranto, MV Taranto.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Taranto Wreck: typical dive 23–40 m (75–130 ft), deepest point 52 m (171 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit23 m40 m52 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 60 m (197 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

42.6519° N, 18.0494° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The wreck rests at about 40 m, and the dive band runs from 23 m down to 52 m around the hull. Like all metal objects on this seabed, the Taranto is covered in sponges, bryozoans and anemones, and schools of mullet and cardinal fish swim around her.

The wreck

Vessel
Taranto
Type
Italian trading vessel
Built
1899
Sunk
1943
Cause
Not recorded; she sank on 15 February 1943
Lies
At about 40 m in front of the Grebeni islets, half a mile west of Dubrovnik

The Taranto was built in Rotterdam in 1899 as a trading vessel. In the Second World War the Italian navy mobilised her to transport military provisions, and she went down off the Grebeni islets west of Dubrovnik on 15 February 1943.

Marine life and season

  • Reef fish swarms
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Season follows Dubrovnik & the Elafiti Islands: Diving runs year-round; summer is the most popular season, for its warmer water and calm sea.

Dive videos

Taranto [+1943], Dubrovnik 🇭🇷 (#294) · Matthew Brown on YouTube

Taranto wreck penetration · Neil Mac on YouTube

Sources

  1. Locations – Blue Planet Diving — Blue Planet Diving
  2. Diving in Dubrovnik — Blue Planet Diving
  3. Taranto (Wreck) – ScubaGo — ScubaGo
  4. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap contributors

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