Nosy Be · Madagascar · Artificial reef
Mahaveluma
A scuttled trawler at 28.5 m off Nosy Sakatia
Area photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mahaveluma is a trawler scuttled in the water off Nosy Sakatia, the small island west of Nosy Be, and she is dived as the deep end of the island's rotation. A trip report published by a visiting diver puts her maximum at 28.5 m. Beyond that the ship is barely on record: no length, no sinking date, no cause, and no published description of how she lies on the bottom.
Also known as Mahaveluma Wreck.
Where it is and how deep
13.3059° S, 48.1603° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The boat goes from Sakatia Lodge on Nosy Sakatia, and depending on the tide you can step aboard straight off the beach in front of it. The crossing is short, and the trawler is dived as one stop in the island's rotation rather than as a day built around a single wreck: of the dives one ten-day stay logged here, running from 15.3 m down to this hull, it was the deepest. Put it early in the day, agree a turn depth and a turn pressure on the boat, and keep the deep phase short.
No source publishes how she lies, how long she is, or when and why she was put down, and no position for the wreck itself has been published either, so the circle on the map here marks Nosy Sakatia rather than the hull. Orientation and any question of penetration are things to settle with the guide on the boat. What the trip report describes, across the Sakatia dives as a group rather than this one alone, is the life they are done among: nudibranchs with texture as well as colour, minute porcelain crabs living in the coral, and walls of fusiliers in mid-water on the safety stops. Dolphins were swum with during the stay, and manta rays are put down as luck rather than something to expect.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Nosy Be: Cyclone season (Jan-Mar) shuts down most diving; whale sharks aggregate Oct-Dec and humpback whales pass offshore during the austral winter.
Know before you go
- At 28.5 m the no-decompression time on air is short: watch computer and gas together, and treat the deep phase as the start of the dive rather than something to extend.
- Nothing published describes the wreck's orientation or a safe route through it, so stay outside the hull unless the guide runs a line inside.
- No current has been published for this site, so read the drift on the surface before you drop and brief what to do if someone is pushed off the wreck.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Mahaveluma?+
The published maximum is 28.5 m, recorded as the deepest dive of a ten-day stay based at Sakatia Lodge, whose shallower dives ran to 15.3 m. No minimum or typical depth for the wreck itself has been published.
What certification do I need for the Mahaveluma?+
At 28.5 m the site sits past recreational Open Water limits, so an Advanced-level certification or equivalent deep experience is what it asks for. Nothing published describes a penetration route, so plan it as an exterior dive.
How do you get to the Mahaveluma?+
By boat from Sakatia Lodge on Nosy Sakatia, which is reached by a 40-minute taxi from Nosy Be airport to the beach and a 20-minute ferry across. The lodge is the only accommodation on the island and arranges both legs along with the diving.
Sources
- Sakatia - an island, off Nosy Be, off Madagascar Diving Trip Report — Divezone
- OpenStreetMap: Nosy Sakatia — OpenStreetMap
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