Mauritius · Mauritius · Artificial reef
Stella Maru
One of Mauritius's best-regarded wrecks, in 25 m
Area photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
A Japanese fishing boat lying in 25 m of water off Trou aux Biches, on the north-west coast a short distance from Port Louis, and rated one of the best wreck dives in Mauritius. Beyond the vessel type, the depth and that reputation, the hull itself is undocumented: no length, no sinking date, no published account of what is left of the structure.
Where it is and how deep
20.0441° S, 57.5367° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The boat sits in 25 m of water off Trou aux Biches, on the north-west coast a short distance from Port Louis, and it is rated one of the best wreck dives in Mauritius. That reputation is about as far as the published record goes: no source we could use gives the hull's orientation, its length, how much of the superstructure is open, or where a guide normally starts and finishes the circuit.
So plan it as a single-level dive at 25 m and take the route from the boat rather than from a site map. Diving in Mauritius is close to shore inside the barrier and fringing reefs and is run from land-based centres rather than liveaboards, so this is a short boat trip out of Trou aux Biches. Ask the guide what the vessel was and when it went down: neither the ship's earlier career nor the date it sank appears on any page we were able to source for this site.
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 | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Good |
Season follows Mauritius: Cyclone season (Jan-Mar) can disrupt trips and cloud visibility; the trade-wind months of Apr-Nov give steadier, clearer conditions.
Dive videos
Wreck Diving in Mauritius on the Stella Maru · Neil Gabriel (Aerial Aspect Imaging) on YouTube
Sources
- Best Diving sites in Mauritius — Divezone
More dive sites in Mauritius
Reef
Shallow coral and a multitude of small reef fish
Wall
Steep walls and rock formations at about 34 m
Drift
A drift run deep to 26 m or shallow to 20 m
Cave & cavern
A guided cavern in the reef off Flic en Flac
A 44 m fishing boat on sand at 30 m by Coin de Mire
Wreck
A fishing boat sunk for diving at 35 m, a reef since the 1980s
Wreck
A wreck sunk as an artificial reef at 43 m, rarely dived
Reef
A small rock outcrop on sand, 16 m at its deepest
Similar dives elsewhere
A small barge on black sand, thick with fish
A scuttled trawler at 28.5 m off Nosy Sakatia
Ruined jetty that serves as a nursery for baby fish
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Claudia Comte's cactus sculptures leading to a drop-off