Malta & Gozo · Malta · Wreck · Artificial reef
Um El Faroud
A 115 m tanker broken in two, upright on clean sand
Photo: Terry Caselli · CC BY-SA 4.0
A 115 m motor tanker scuttled off Wied iż-Żurrieq in 1998, three years after an explosion in her tanks killed nine shipyard workers in dry dock. She sits upright on sand with the bridge between 15 and 18 m and the main deck at 25 m, and a winter storm has since broken her into two sections.
Where it is and how deep
35.8222° N, 14.4497° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Operators publish the site as a 28–35 m dive. Dives start shallow, on the bridge, which surveys put between 15 and 18 m. From there the route runs deeper in a south-westerly direction along the ship towards the bow. The main deck is at 25 m and the sand around the hull between 32 and 36 m depending on the source, so the profile steps down rather than dropping: superstructure first, then the length of a 115 m tanker.
From the bow most dives turn and work back along the outer hull. Shoals of salema, bass and bream sit in against the plating, and barracuda and amberjack hunt over the top of the wreck. The inner tanks are completely open and can be dropped into safely, which is much of why this ship is used as a first wreck; other parts of the hull should only be entered by divers with the training and equipment for it.
The last feature is the split. A bad storm in the winter of 2005/6 broke the ship in two, and the break is now part of the tour. Finish shallow on the superstructure and use the buoy line if the water is moving — one is placed close to the wreck through the summer months, and it is worth the swim to it in any current.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Um El Faroud
- Type
- Motor tanker
- Length
- 115 m (377 ft)
- Built
- 1969
- Sunk
- 1998
- Cause
- Scuttled as an artificial reef after a fatal tank explosion in dry dock
- Lies
- Upright on sand; bridge 15–18 m, main deck 25 m, seabed 32–36 m, broken in two since 2005/6
Um El Faroud was launched at the Smiths Dock Company in Middlesbrough on 31 May 1969 and worked as a single-screw motor tanker until 3 February 1995, when an explosion in No. 3 centre tank during maintenance in Malta killed nine shipyard workers. The hulk stayed in the yard for three years before being towed to sea and scuttled as an artificial reef in 1998. She sat intact until a bad storm in the winter of 2005/6 broke her into two sections.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- 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.
Know before you go
- Only the open inner tanks are straightforward to enter. The rest of the hull is a penetration dive needing a reel, lights and the training to use them.
- Current can run strong over this wreck. Use the summer buoy for the ascent rather than free-ascending off the deck, and check the surface conditions before entering.
- The deck is at 25 m and the seabed in the low-to-mid thirties, so no-stop time on the lower hull is short — plan the deep part of the dive first and the bridge last.
Photos from Um El Faroud
Pstraudo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pstraudo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pstraudo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dive videos
The Explosion That Created Malta’s Most Iconic Dive Wreck: Um El Faroud · Dive SAGA - Scuba diving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Um El Faroud wreck?+
Operators publish it as a 28–35 m dive. The bridge, where dives usually start, stands between 15 and 18 m in published surveys and the main deck at 25 m, while figures for the sand around the hull range from 32 to 36 m.
Can beginners dive the Um El Faroud?+
It is rated an advanced dive, with a published range of 28–35 m. The deck alone is at 25 m and the seabed in the low-to-mid thirties. For a diver already qualified to those depths the open inner tanks make a reasonable first wreck, but the rest of the hull is for divers with penetration training and equipment.
Sources
- Um El Faroud — Wikipedia
- Um El Faroud – Wied iż-Żurrieq — Gozo Dive
Photo credits
- An octopus and a starfish sheltering among weed-covered wreckage on the Um El Faroud by Terry Caselli, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A shoal of fish drifting past the upper bridge structure of the sunken tanker Um El Faroud by Pstraudo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- The stern deck rail and bollards of the Um El Faroud wreck seen through green water by Pstraudo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- The large bronze propeller of the Um El Faroud tanker resting on the seabed by Pstraudo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
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