Malta is known for its wreck diving with a wide variety of historic and newer wrecks at dive sites ranging in depth from 12 meters to 130 meters. Since August 29, 2022, a new shipwreck has been added to the list: MV Hephaestus, a bunker tanker.

On the morning of February 10, 2018, MV Hephaestus was anchored near the area known as Is-Sikka l-Bajda, about 3 km from the coast, when it pulled anchor during a severe storm and headed for the coast drifted. An hour later, around 6:15 AM, it hit the rocks at Qawra Point near St. Paul's Bay.

It soon proved too expensive to repair the ship and instead it was decided to thoroughly clean the ship and then sink it as a dive wreck and artificial reef. In August 2022, the Malta Tourist Authority, the Ministry of Gozo and the PDSA jointly achieved this.

The MV Hephaestus has a length of 60 meters and a maximum width of 8 meters. It is located on the sandy bottom at Xatt l-Ahmar in Gozo at a depth of 42 – 45 meters with the main deck about 37 meters deep and the top of the bridge about 30 meters, making it suitable both as a deep recreational dive or as a a technical dive. It can be dived from the shore or as a boat dive. It has already become one of the most popular dive sites in Malta!

We at Scubatech Diving Center Malta are happy to tell you more about it on Duikvaker!