Malta & Gozo · Malta · Wreck · Artificial reef
MT Hephaestus
A 61 m tanker at 46 m, scuttled off Gozo in 2022
The newest of the purpose-sunk ships at Xatt l-Aħmar: a 61 m steel tanker that ran aground off Qawra in a 2018 storm and was scuttled here on 29 August 2022. She rests about 30 m off the coast at roughly 46 m, deeper than the Karwela alongside her and past recreational limits.
Also known as MV Hephaestus.
Where it is and how deep
36.0175° N, 14.2886° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a deep dive on a very short swim. The wreck sits about 30 m off the Xatt l-Aħmar shoreline at a depth of about 46 m, so there is no long transit to break the profile up: the descent starts almost immediately and the whole of the dive is below 40 m. That places it outside recreational limits and, unlike the older wrecks on the same coast, its route has not yet settled into the published guides.
What is on the bottom is a steel tanker of 595 gross tons, 61.33 m long with a 7.93 m beam, built in Sweden in 1965 and scuttled here on 29 August 2022 in an operation overseen by the Malta Tourism Authority and the Professional Diving Schools Association. She joins the MV Karwela, MV Xlendi and MV Cominoland, all previously sunk as diving attractions on this stretch, and the depth is what separates her from them.
The wreck
- Vessel
- MV Hephaestus
- Type
- Steel oil tanker, 595 GRT
- Length
- 61.33 m (201 ft)
- Built
- 1965
- Sunk
- 2022
- Cause
- Grounded off Qawra in a 2018 storm, later scuttled as a dive site
- Lies
- About 30 m off the Xatt l-Aħmar coast at a depth of about 46 m
MV Hephaestus was built in 1965 by Bröderna Jonssons Torrdocka at Lidköping in Sweden, a steel tanker of 595 gross tons measuring 61.33 m long with a 7.93 m beam. On 10 February 2018, in severe storm conditions, she ran aground off Qawra in Malta near Fra Ben; she was carrying no cargo and all seven crew evacuated safely. She was scuttled off Xatt l-Aħmar in Gozo on 29 August 2022, overseen by the Malta Tourism Authority and the Professional Diving Schools Association.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Malta & Gozo: Jun–Sep is the main season, with the sea averaging 21–26 °C; it never drops below 14 °C, so diving carries on through the winter.
Know before you go
- At about 46 m the entire dive is below recreational limits. This needs decompression training, appropriate gas and a planned ascent, not an advanced open-water profile.
- No dive route, current or visibility figures have been published for this wreck. Take the briefing from an operator who dives it rather than from what is written about the neighbouring wrecks.
Dive videos
MV HEPHAESTUS︱GOZO ︱MEDITERRANEAN BEST WRECK SCUBA DIVING︱4K HDR VIDEO · MOKEN PLANET on YouTube
Swim though of MV Hephaestus, Gozo · Tristan Cope on YouTube
Sources
- MT Hephaestus — Wikipedia
- MV Karwela Wreck — Gozo Dive
Photo credits
- The blue-hulled supply ship MT Hephaestus moored in Marsa harbour with its crane still fitted, before being scuttled by Pom' from France, European Union, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Malta and Gozo wreck diving, by depth and monthWrecks · 10 min read
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- DPV diving: what an underwater scooter changesGear & kit · 10 min read
More dive sites in Malta & Gozo
Cave & cavern
An air chamber at the back of a vast cave in the cliff
An 80 m rock tunnel and a collapsed sea cave, both entered on foot
Wreck
An upturned wartime fighter with its wings still intact
Wreck
A ditched light bomber sitting upright on sand and small reefs
Swim beneath the surviving span of a collapsed sea cavern
Wall
An old four-pronged grapple anchor lying deep on the reef
A huge cavern in the Dwejra drop-off, walls lined with sponges
.jpg){kind=link}
A long, well-lit tunnel through the rock of a sheltered lagoon
Similar dives elsewhere
Wreck
Airbus A300
Kuşadası · Turkey
A full-size airliner with a 44 m wingspan on the gulf floor
Wreck
Airplane
Kemer & Tekirova · Turkey
A propeller plane sunk on purpose in 2012
Wreck
Chavdar
Sozopol & St. Ivan Island · Bulgaria
A 1964 fishing vessel sunk off Sozopol as an artificial reef
Wreck
Costandis
Limassol & the Three Stars Wreck · Cyprus
A huge resident grouper called George escorts divers around the trawler