Azores · Portugal · Wreck
Olympia wreck
A 1921 Greek cargo wreck on remote mid-Atlantic islets
The Olympia is a Greek cargo ship that ran aground on the Formigas islets in 1921 and now lies on their southwest side. It is a deep wreck in the open Atlantic, reached only on the offshore trips from Santa Maria to the Formigas reserve.
Also known as Olympia, Naufrágio Olympia.
Where it is and how deep
37.2760° N, 24.7794° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck sits on the southwest side of the Formigas islets, with its remains lying between 30 and 50 m. No part of it is shallower than 30 m, so the whole dive is a deep one, reached on the offshore trips to the Formigas reserve.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Olympia
- Type
- Cargo ship (Greek)
- Sunk
- 1921
- Cause
- Ran aground and was wrecked at the Formigas islets on 16 June 1921; the crew survived
- Lies
- On the southwest side of the Formigas islets, between 30 and 50 m
On 16 June 1921 the Greek cargo ship Olympia ran aground at the Formigas islets and was wrecked; her crew survived. The wreck lies on the southwest side of the islets, inside the Formigas Nature Reserve that has protected the bank since 1988, and it is one of the several dives the islets offer.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Azores: Boats run May to October; July to September is the peak at Ambrósio, and the offshore trips run regularly from June.
Know before you go
- Strong currents and frequent large swells hit the Formigas islets.
Dive videos
Olympia wreck - Formigas islets - Azores · Azores4travel on YouTube
Sources
- Formigas - ScubaGo — ScubaGo
- Formigas Islets - Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- Mantamaria Dive Center — cursosdebuceo.com
More dive sites in Azores
Reef
Prismatic rock columns broken up by patches of sand
Reef
A rock face completely covered in yellow anemones
Pelagic & blue water
Hundreds of sicklefin devil rays spiralling up a buoy line
Seamount
An open-ocean seamount where hammerheads and mantas pass
A wall of vertical rock prisms like an underwater causeway
Cave & cavern
Three exits that turn a stone cave into a circuit
Cave & cavern
Hundreds of shrimp packed into a narrow cavern
Slipper lobsters tucked into small caves around a reserve islet
Similar dives elsewhere
Fleet tanker torpedoed at anchor by U-68 in 1941
Wreck
Aliah wreck
Glénan Archipelago · France
An overturned bow full of congers on a 1940 Dutch freighter
A 47 m freighter upright on her keel at 21 m
Tile-carrying wreck at 55–65 m, expert divers only