Kategorie: News
History and scuttling of an oil tanker
The MV Hephaestus, a Togo registered oil tanker, is about 60m long and has a beam of 8m. The Hephaestus wrecked during a severe winter storm on 10 February 2018 at Qawra Point, off Gozo Island.
The vessel was anchored near the area known as Is-Sikka l-Bajda about 3 km from the coast. The captain made the fateful decision to weigh anchor during the storm - despite an engine problem. The ship drifted directly towards the coast due to the lack of engine power. An hour later, the tanker ran aground on the rocks. Fortunately, the ship had no cargo on board; there was no environmental damage. The seven-member crew was uninjured.
Six months later, on 15 August 2018, after necessary temporary repairs, the Hephaestus was pulled off the rocks by two tugs and towed to the Marsa shipyard. A full repair of the badly damaged vessel was quickly discarded as too costly. Its future use as a diving wreck was then an idea initiated by the Professional Diving Schools Association of Malta, Gozo and Comino (PDSA).
Scuttling of the MV Hephaestus
The MV Hephaestus was meticulously prepared for sinking over a long period of time. The Maltese shipyards have a lot of experience in cleaning up future submerged wrecks. The ships are cleaned of all oil and lubricant residues and are absolutely 'clean' before sinking. So nothing stands in the way of the settlement of marine life. On 29 August 2022, the time had finally come. The MV Hephaestus was transported by a tugboat in combination with a crane platform to its new resting place at Xatt l-Ahmar.
In the early afternoon, the sinking was quite unspectacular. The ship tilted slightly to port and sank almost in slow motion. The alignment was optimal, because the wreck did not turn with the keel upwards as it did many years ago when the MV Xlendi, which lies in the immediate vicinity, sank.
We were allowed to dive the MV Hephaestus already one day after the sinking and are quite taken with the new wreck. The ship has sunk almost perfectly and lies upright - keel down - on the sandy bottom. The deepest point of the wreck is the stern area at 46m depth. Towards the bow it rises slightly.
From the shore, the new wreck dive site can only be reached by sheer muscle power - with a rather arduous swim time of about 20 minutes; with the scooter it takes about 8 minutes at full throttle. For many divers, a boat dive will probably be the way of choice. With a maximum depth of about 46m, the wreck is definitely for experienced divers.
On the south-east coast of Gozo, in Xatt l-Ahmar, there are already three popular dive wrecks: MV Karwela, MV Cominoland and the MV Xlendi.
Below is a video of the last 2 minutes of MV Hephaestus above water. At this point, a big thank you to @VisitMalta for the great dive sites of the island republic!
More Informationen
MV Hephaestus on Taucher.Net