Malta & Gozo · Malta · Wreck
Rozi
An upright, intact tug wrapped in sea breams and cardinal fish
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
A 35 m tugboat scuttled off Ċirkewwa in 1992 for an underwater safari business, now one of the most popular dive sites in the Maltese islands. It sits upright and intact apart from its engines and propeller, and the wreck is full of fish.
Also known as MV Rozi, Tugboat Rozi, Rozy.
Where it is and how deep
35.9898° N, 14.3269° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The mast is the first part of the wreck to appear, at 20 m, and most of the tug lies between 30 and 34 m, upright on a sandy bottom that reaches 36 m (118 ft). The hull is intact except for its missing engines and propeller. Sea breams, scorpionfish, rainbow wrasses and cardinal fish fill the wreck.
The wreck
- Vessel
- MV Rozi
- Type
- Tugboat
- Length
- 35 m (115 ft)
- Built
- 1958
- Sunk
- 1992
- Cause
- Scuttled off Ċirkewwa in September 1992 for underwater safari tours
- Lies
- Upright and intact on sand, mast at 20 m, hull at 30–34 m
MV Rozi was a tugboat built in Bristol in 1958. She was sold to Tug Malta in 1981 and renamed Rozi. In September 1992 her owners scuttled the tug off Ċirkewwa for their Underwater Safari Tours, and the wreck, intact apart from its engines and propeller, is now one of the most dived wrecks in Malta.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| 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.
Dive videos
Malta Dive Sites - Tugboat Rozi · Mika Tanninen on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification does the Rozi wreck need?+
Most of the tug lies at 30 to 34 m, with the sand at 36 m, so the dive calls for deep training beyond Open Water; only the mast is shallower, at 20 m.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org MV_Rozi — Wikipedia
- maltadives.com en — MaltaDives.com
- en.wikivoyage.org Diving_in_Malta — Wikivoyage
- maltadives.com arch-cirkewwa — MaltaDives.com
Photo credits
- A tugboat wreck sitting upright on pale sand in bright blue water, seen from a distance with a few fish around it. by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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