Primošten & Rogoznica · Croatia · Wreck
SS Zagreb wreck
A wreck at 64-70 m, dived on trimix only
Area photo: Carsten Steger · CC BY-SA 4.0
The SS Zagreb lies with its shallowest part at approximately 64 m and its deepest at 70; Pongo lists the wreck at 65 to 75 m. Either way the whole of it sits below recreational depths, and the operator dives it only with normoxic trimix or a rebreather. Yellow sponges cover the structure, and grouper and shoals of small fish live on it.
Where it is and how deep
43.4928° N, 15.9731° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a decompression dive with no shallow option. The catalogue puts the shallowest part of the wreck at approximately 64 m and the deepest at 70, and Pongo's own listing runs it 65 to 75 m; on either set of figures the entire structure lies in the range that requires mixed gas. Bottom time is short and the ascent is the long part of the dive.
What is down there is a wreck that has been colonised rather than picked over: Pongo describes it upright and covered in yellow sponges, with grouper holding station on it and shoals of small fish working around it. The story of the ship comes from that same operator page — a First World War loss — and no independent maritime record for it turned up alongside the site, so the account rests on the operator alone.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Zagreb
- Type
- Cargo and passenger ship, called a First World War loss
- Cause
- Torpedoed by a French submarine in January 1917 according to the operator that dives it; not independently confirmed
- Lies
- Upright and covered in yellow sponges, shallowest part about 64 m and deepest 70 m
Pongo, which dives the wreck, publishes the story: a part-cargo, part-passenger ship carrying nuts, hit in the stern by a torpedo from the French submarine Archimède on 14 January 1917 and sunk stern first after the explosion took the propellers and the helm. The operator's account puts the loss at the captain, the second officer, 13 crew and 43 passengers, with the coast only a few hundred metres away. No independent maritime record for the ship turned up with the site, so the whole of that history stands on the operator's page.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Primošten & Rogoznica: The swimming season runs June to October; Pongo prices a low season as well, so winter diving happens at around 12–15 °C.
Know before you go
- The whole wreck lies between 64 and 70 m, so every dive on it is a staged decompression dive on mixed gas with no shallower part of the site to retreat to.
Sources
- SS Zagreb Wreck — Scubago
- Best Dives in Croatia — Diving Center Pongo
- SS Zagreb wreck — Diving Center Pongo
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