Malta Wreck Diving: Best Shipwrecks in Malta & Gozo by Depth

No other island in the Mediterranean packs as much accessible steel into such a small coastline as Malta. Across the three islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino, you can step off a limestone ledge or take a ten-minute boat hop onto WWII destroyers, Cold War minesweepers, harbour tugboats, passenger ferries, and a 110-metre Libyan oil tanker — almost all resting upright in 20 to 30 metres of clear blue water.

What makes Malta wreck diving truly special is how deliberately the islands have built a progression for every certification level. Unlike Scapa Flow in Scotland (where cold water and tide demand drysuit experience) or the MS Zenobia in Cyprus (where one giant ferry dominates the entire trip), Malta lets you log six completely different shipwrecks in a five-day holiday — mostly from the shore.

This complete guide ranks the best shipwrecks in Malta, Gozo, and Comino by depth and certification level, explains how shore vs. boat logistics work, and shows you how to plan a week of wreck diving without wasting half your trip in island traffic.

Top Malta, Gozo & Comino Shipwrecks Compared

Use this table to match Malta's headline wrecks to your current certification card and comfort level:

1. Shallow Open Water Wrecks (11–20 Metres)

Image by Martin Str

If you hold a PADI Open Water Diver certification (18-metre limit) or want an easy warm-up dive on day one, Malta has three genuine options that do not force you past your training depth.

HMS Maori (Valletta – 11 to 16 Metres)

Sunk by German bombers in Grand Harbour in February 1942 and later relocated to St. Elmo Bay beneath Valletta's historic bastions, the forward section of HMS Maori rests on white sand at 14–16 metres. Because the hull has opened up over eighty years underwater, light pours through the ribs and gun mounts, making it ideal for Open Water divers, underwater photographers, and night dives. You kit up on the concrete jetty below Fort St. Elmo and swim out along the reef wall.

P31 Patrol Boat (Comino – 11 to 20 Metres)

Scuttled in 2009 off the western coast of Comino island, the P31 is the sister ship of Cirkewwa's P29. Unlike P29, however, P31 was sunk on a much shallower sandy shelf between 11 and 20 metres. Reached by a short boat trip from either northern Malta or Gozo, she sits upright with no heavy current, allowing Open Water divers to explore the entire length of a 52-metre warship from bow to propeller without worrying about deep no-stop limits.

Upper Superstructure of P29 (Cirkewwa – 12 to 18 Metres)

Even though the seabed beneath the P29 wreck at Cirkewwa drops to 34 metres, her radar mast and upper bridge sit at 12 to 18 metres. Well-run Malta dive centers regularly take Open Water groups across the Cirkewwa reef arch and onto the upper works of P29 while keeping the main hull below them.

2. Northern Malta's Cirkewwa Twin Wrecks: P29 and MV Rozi

Cirkewwa Point — right beside the Gozo ferry terminal at the northern tip of Malta — is the island's busiest and best-equipped shore diving marine park. Dedicated dive parking, gearing-up benches, entry ladders, and exit steps sit fifty metres from the water.

P29 Patrol Boat (12–34 Metres)

Scuttled in August 2007, our dedicated P29 wreck Malta guide covers every detail of this 52-metre Kondor-class minesweeper. For Advanced Open Water divers, P29 offers a textbook upright profile: drop to 32–34 metres at the stern to inspect the twin propeller shafts and rudder, ascend to the 20–24 metre main deck to inspect the former machine-gun mount on the bow, and finish on the 14-metre bridge before swimming back along the Cirkewwa reef wall for a long safety stop.

MV Rozi Tugboat (22–36 Metres)

Sunk in 1992 for a tourist submarine attraction before becoming a scuba icon, the MV Rozi is an intact 40-metre Bristol harbour tugboat sitting upright on bright white sand about 130 metres northwest of the Cirkewwa lighthouse. Because she has been underwater fifteen years longer than P29, Rozi attracts huge clouds of damselfish, sea bream, cardinalfish, and hunting jacks around her wheelhouse.

Important planning note: Do not attempt to swim between P29 and Rozi on a single single-tank recreational dive. They sit roughly 250–300 metres apart at 34 metres depth. Dive P29 on your first morning tank, take a proper 60- to 90-minute surface interval with pastizzi and tea at the Cirkewwa snack bar, and dive Rozi on your second tank (ideally on 32% Nitrox).

3. Southern Malta's Giant: The Um El Faroud (18–36 Metres)

If you only do one big wreck dive on the main island of Malta, make it the Um El Faroud at Wied iż-Żurrieq.

At 110 metres long and 10,000 tons, the Libyan single-screw oil tanker suffered a fatal gas explosion in dry dock at Valletta in 1995 and was scuttled off the southern cliffs of Wied iż-Żurrieq in 1998 as a memorial and artificial reef. A severe winter storm in 2005 split her hull in two ahead of the bridge — a dramatic break that actually made the wreck even better to dive by opening a cavernous canyon right into the midships structure.

• Depth profile: Top of the bridge and funnel at 18 metres, main deck at 24–26 metres, massive brass propeller and rudder on the sand at 34–36 metres.
• How it takes two dives: Because the ship is over a hundred metres long and you have a 120-metre swim out and back from the Wied iż-Żurrieq valley slipway, most divers spend Dive 1 exploring the stern, bridge, and engine-room skylights, and Dive 2 exploring the midships break and the towering bow.

4. Gozo's Xatt l-Aħmar Wreck Trio: Karwela, Cominoland & Xlendi

Take the 25-minute ferry from Cirkewwa to Gozo, and you reach Xatt l-Aħmar on Gozo's southeastern coast — arguably the best multi-wreck shore site in Europe. Three ships sit side by side along the bottom of a shelving drop-off:

1. MV Karwela (29–39 Metres): Scuttled in August 2006, this 50-metre former Captain Morgan excursion ferry is famous across Europe for its photogenic central passenger staircase and the old Volkswagen Beetle resting on its deck. Designed specifically for divers with large cut-outs along the promenade decks, Karwela is the favourite wreck of many PADI Wreck Diver instructors.
2. MV Cominoland (27–36 Metres): Sunk on the same day just 60 metres away from Karwela, Cominoland is a 35-metre former minesweeper-turned-ferry with two open passenger decks and dramatic bow winches.
3. MV Xlendi (35–42 Metres): Scuttled in 1999, this 80-metre car ferry rolled onto its hull and landed upside-down on a shifting sand bank. Because the interior is unstable and dark, penetration of the Xlendi is strictly prohibited; exterior dives along the upturned hull and propellers are reserved for experienced deep divers.

Because Karwela and Cominoland sit between 30 and 39 metres, diving them on Enriched Air Nitrox (30–32%) or with a twinset/pony cylinder is strongly recommended so you are not forced off the wreck after eight minutes by no-decompression limits.

5. Northeast Malta & Technical Wrecks (35–95+ Metres)

Once you move beyond 35 metres, Malta transitions into a world-class Deep Diver and technical playground:

• Imperial Eagle (Qawra Point – 32 to 42 Metres): A 45-metre ferry reached by boat off Qawra. The dive starts at a 32-metre underwater valley holding a 13-ton statue of Jesus Christ (blessed by Pope John Paul II in 1990) before following the sand out to the upright ferry at 38–42 metres.
• Tug 2 & St. Michael (Zonqor Point, Marsaskala – 19 to 22 Metres): Two shallower tugboats scuttled on the east coast that offer great alternatives when northwest winds blow out Cirkewwa.
• Technical WWII Wrecks (50–95+ Metres): Malta's surrounding seabed is littered with wartime losses from the Siege of Malta (1940–1942), including the British submarine HMS Stubborn (56 m), the minesweeper HMS Edderton (52 m), the destroyer HMS Southwold (70 m), and deep aircraft wrecks. Like the HMHS Britannic in Greece, these require formal normoxic or hypoxic trimix and staged decompression training.

How to Plan a 5-Day Malta Wreck Diving Itinerary

Malta looks tiny on a map (just 27 km long), but morning rush-hour traffic around Valletta and Sliema can turn a 15-kilometre drive into an hour. Base yourself in St. Paul's Bay / Bugibba / Mellieħa in the north, and structure your week geographically:

• Day 1 (Warm-Up & Buoyancy Check): Morning shore dive on HMS Maori (14 m) in Valletta, followed by an afternoon east-coast dive on Tug 2 (21 m) at Marsaskala.
• Day 2 (Cirkewwa North Coast): Dive 1 on the P29 patrol boat (12–34 m); Dive 2 on the MV Rozi tugboat (22–36 m).
• Day 3 (South Coast Tanker): Two dives on the Um El Faroud (18–36 m) at Wied iż-Żurrieq — one stern/bridge tour, one midships/bow tour.
• Day 4 (Gozo Wreck Day Trip): Catch the early Cirkewwa ferry to Gozo and dive MV Karwela and MV Cominoland at Xatt l-Aħmar.
• Day 5 (Comino Boat Day): Boat trip to the P31 wreck (11–20 m) and the Santa Maria Caves on Comino.

Before you fly, brush up on your overhead and line rules with our wreck diving certification guide and see how Malta stacks up against Cyprus, Croatia, France, and Scotland in our best wreck diving in Europe ranking.