SCUBA Travel News

There is a new dive waiting off the coast of Comino: former Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Patrol Boat P31. The wreck is 52 m long and lies at 18 m.

The Malta Tourism Authority co-ordinated the scuttling of the former Patrol Boat to add to the number of underwater attractions for scuba divers visiting Ċirkewwa and Comino.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Hon. Dr Mario de Marco said that Malta has nine wrecks being purposely scuttled vessels for diving; and that the P31's scuttling is part of a two-phase project to scuttle two patrol boats. The first was the P29 which was scuttled in Ċirkewwa in August 2007.

He also referred to the process of the scuttling which included an Environmental Impact Assessment carried out to assess the environmental impact of this project. As a result of the studies, the scuttling location was shifted by approximately 30 metres to avoid important sea grass beds.

He added that the Maltese Islands last year attracted almost 55,000 divers with the majority hailing from the UK, Germany and Italy.

Malta is renowned as a diving destination, with two of its dive sites making it into the list of the top ten European dive sites, as voted for by SCUBA Travel readers.

Further Information:
Malta Tourism Authority
AFM Video of the Scuttling

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Labels: Europe, Malta and Gozo, Mediterranean, wrecks