Porto Santo · Portugal · Wreck
Madeirense (Wreck)
Porto Santo's deepest dive, on a cargo boat sunk in 2000
Area photo: Portuguese_eyes · CC BY-SA 2.0
A cargo boat that went to the bottom off Porto Santo in October 2000 and is now the deepest dive the island has. The highest point of the wreck is at about 24 m and the bottom reaches 35 m, in water where a current is rare and visibility is always more than 25 m. Schools of bogues and horse mackerel hold over the steel, with groupers, barracuda, rays and jacks around it.
Where it is and how deep
33.0474° N, 16.2985° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck sits deep by Porto Santo's standards. The highest point of the steel is at about 24 m and the bottom reaches 35 m, so the dive is planned around the upper part of the ship and whatever time the profile allows lower down. Conditions are usually kind: the site is sheltered from the prevailing wind, there is rarely a current, and visibility is always more than 25 m, so the outline of the hull resolves below you on the way down rather than arriving piece by piece.
What the site is known for is the life on it. Schools of bogues and horse mackerel move over the wreck, and around the steel are groupers, several species of bream, parrotfish, blacktail comber, striped mullet and triggerfish, with rays, barracuda and jacks passing through. Depth keeps the visit short, so most of it is spent on the higher structure before the ascent, and on the clearest days the reported visibility on these wrecks runs past 40 m.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Madeirense
- Type
- Cargo boat
- Sunk
- 2000
- Cause
- Not recorded by the sources consulted; the dive catalogue notes only that she sank in October 2000.
- Lies
- Highest point of the wreck at about 24 m, with the bottom reaching 35 m
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Stingrays
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Porto Santo: Diving runs all year. July to October holds the warmest water, logged at 22–23°C, February logs the lowest visibility, and the island's rain falls in winter.
Know before you go
- The highest point of the wreck is at 24 m and the bottom at 35 m, so no-stop time is short — fix a maximum depth and a turn pressure before you leave the boat.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Madeirense?+
The highest point of the wreck is at about 24 m and the bottom reaches 35 m, which makes it the deepest dive on Porto Santo. Plan it as a short dive on the upper part of the ship.
What certification do I need for the Madeirense?+
The shallowest steel is at 24 m, so this is a dive for divers with deep or advanced training and enough experience to work a short bottom time without rushing.
Sources
- Madeirense (Wreck) — Scubago
- Madeira destination page — Scubago
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