Reefwander
Portofino lighthouse on a rocky headland dropping into the Ligurian Sea

Portofino Marine Reserve · Italy · Wreck

Relitto dell'Ischia

A 1943 merchant ship on the bottom at 90 m

Area photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich · CC BY-SA 4.0

The merchant ship Ischia lies offshore of Punta Chiappa, on the bottom at 90 metres. She was sunk on 28 February 1943 by a British submarine, and the depth puts her outside recreational diving entirely: the published listing of Portofino's dive sites records the wreck as visitable by technical divers only.

Also known as Wreck of the Ischia.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Relitto dell'Ischia: typical dive to 90 m (to 295 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit90 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 110 m (361 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

44.3092° N, 9.1325° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

This is a technical dive and nothing else. The Ischia lies offshore of Punta Chiappa on a 90-metre bottom, which puts her outside recreational limits by a wide margin, and the published listing of the reserve's dive sites records her as visitable only by technical divers. Reaching her means the equipment, gas and staged decompression that depth requires, and a team that plans the dive as a technical one from the start.

What is published about the ship is thin: a merchant vessel, sunk on 28 February 1943 by a British submarine, lying off the point. Her dimensions, tonnage and present condition appear in no published listing of the site, so anyone planning the dive should be taking that detail from a local technical operator rather than from a site description. The position and the depth are the parts that are on record.

The wreck

Vessel
Ischia
Type
Merchant vessel
Sunk
1943
Cause
Sunk by a British submarine on 28 February 1943
Lies
Offshore near Punta Chiappa, on the bottom at 90 m

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Relitto dell'Ischia
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairFair

Season follows Portofino Marine Reserve: May–Oct is the settled season; visibility is often best in late autumn, and winter storms close the exposed southern walls.

Sources

  1. Area naturale marina protetta Portofino — Wikivoyage (IT)

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