Malta & Gozo · Malta · Wreck
Scotscraig
The barge behind the camera on the Popeye film set
Area photo: Michaela Yos Niki Loxa · CC BY 4.0
The Scotscraig is a former Scottish car ferry that played a part in the filming of Popeye before being scuttled off Anchor Bay. The small hull now sits on open sand, a wreck dive that only boats can reach.
Also known as Scot Craig, MV Scotscraig, Popeye's Barge.
Where it is and how deep
35.9642° N, 14.3333° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The small former river ferry rests on a sandy bottom at 19 m, about 500 m north of Anchor Bay. At that distance it is too far out to swim to from the beach, so the descent is made from a boat over the wreck site.
The wreck
- Vessel
- MV Scotscraig
- Type
- Car ferry
- Cause
- Scuttled after serving as a camera platform for the 1980 Popeye film
- Lies
- On a sandy bottom at 19 m, 500 m north of Anchor Bay
In 1980 a barge served as a camera platform for the filming of Popeye at Anchor Bay, also called Popeye Bay. That barge was the Scotscraig, which had been the Dundee-Newport car ferry in Scotland. The film crew left its big anchor lying in 6 m in the bay, and the ferry itself was later scuttled further out.
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.
Dive videos
Malta Wreck Dive 2025 - MV Scotscraig - Popeye's Barge · Salfu Worldwide on YouTube
Sources
- maltadives.com/4914 — maltadives.com
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Diving_in_Malta — en.wikivoyage.org
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