Mallorca · Spain · Wreck
Porto Pi Wrecks
Four of Mallorca's largest wrecks together at 28 m off Palma harbour
Area photo: Rafael Ortega Díaz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Porto Pi Wrecks is the wreck dive off Palma harbour, where sunken cargo ships and the four largest wrecks on Mallorca lie together at 28 m. The dive is a descent down a line through blue water onto the hulls, with nudibranchs on the first wreck, octopus around the entrance and schooling fish over the structure. Both centres that publish it list it for advanced or deep divers only, with no penetration.
Also known as Porto Pi (Wreck), Playa Dorada.
Where it is and how deep
39.5427° N, 2.6306° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive begins with a descent on the line through blue water, with no wall or slope to follow down, so a controlled drop with the group and an eye on the gauge is part of the dive rather than a preliminary. The wrecks lie at 28 m near the port of Palma, which puts the whole dive close to the bottom of a recreational profile and keeps bottom time short: one operator plans it as roughly 35 minutes. Decide before you go in which hull you want to spend that time on, because the site holds sunken cargo ships and four of the largest wrecks on the island in one place.
The first wreck is where the small life is, with many nudibranchs on the structure, and octopus live around the entrance area. Schooling fish gather over the hulls. The advice from both operators is no penetration, so the dive is an exterior tour along the outside of the ships at depth, and it ends the way it started, with an ascent back up the line through the blue rather than along any reef. Shipping traffic in and out of Palma is a listed difficulty, so stay on the line for the stop and surface next to the boat.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Unnamed: four large wrecks and several smaller cargo ships
- Type
- Cargo ships
- Cause
- Not published by either operator source
- Lies
- At 28 m on the seabed near the port of Palma, reached by a shot line through blue water
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Reef fish swarms
| 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 Mallorca: One Santa Ponça centre runs daily April–October and weekends only Nov–Mar; May–Sep brings the calmest seas and warmest water, with leisure-boat traffic in the bays at the height of summer.
Know before you go
- The descent is through blue water on a line with no wall or slope to follow; drop as a group and watch depth on the way down.
- No penetration is recommended: keep the dive to the outside of the hulls.
- Shipping traffic near the port of Palma: ascend on the line and surface beside the boat.
- At 28 m bottom time is short; plan which wreck to spend it on and keep a margin for the ascent through open water.
Questions divers ask
How deep are the Porto Pi wrecks?+
The wrecks off Porto Pi lie at 28 m, reached by a descent down a line through blue water, which is why both operators list the site for advanced or deep divers only.
Can you penetrate the Porto Pi wrecks?+
No penetration is recommended; the dive is an exterior tour of the hulls, with nudibranchs on the first wreck, octopus at the entrance and schooling fish above.
What ships are the Porto Pi wrecks?+
Neither published source names the vessels. They are described only as sunken cargo ships and the four largest wrecks on Mallorca, lying together at 28 m.
Sources
- Porto Pi (Wreck) — Scubago
- Porto Pi's Wrecks — Big Blue Diving Mallorca
More dive sites in Mallorca
Wall
Overhangs and rock walls to 20 m, good for finding octopus
Rocky walls, sand and small caves in 5 to 20 m of calm water
A 30 m tunnel through the cliffs from 6 m, plus a cavern with an air bubble
A plateau below the lighthouse with barracuda, groupers and cuttlefish
Reef
Rocky plateaus and small caves stepping from 8 m down to 30 m
Wreck
A small boat at 18 m with mast and boxes intact, two more hulls at 27 m
Cavern entrances at 8 m, with shrimps, lobsters and snake starfish inside
Reef
Tunnels through the rock, a small wreck and a plane wing between 6 and 35 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A wartime Flying Fortress upright on clean sand at 25–28 m
A coal carrier on a slope from a 13 m plateau to about 27 m
A scattered cargo wreck on a reef running from 2 m to 35 m
Tarragona's signature wreck dive, an 18 m ship a few minutes from the quay