The P-29 Kondor Class patrol boat

I last dived the P-29 last summer, and from what I hear, she has become the best wreck dive site for marine life. The P-29 lies at 33 metres and can be found almost straight ahead of you at the divers entry point in Cirkewwa. The tugboat Rozie lies nearby, but the two wrecks are too far apart to be dived in one. What i suggest is a morning dive on the Rozie and an afternoon dive on the P-29. While the P-29 does not lie at a great depth, she does have a feeling of "being in the middle of nowhere", with cold blue water all around. There is no drop off, no reef, no shelf, no nothing. You approach her with a 250-metre or so swim, and the best tactic to conserve air is to start shallow and then sharpen your descent as soon as you see her ghost begin the form on the white sand.
She was scuttled on 14 August 2007 and even last year - just two years into her new life as a diving attraction, she had already amassed some weird and wonderful creatures. The most intriguing of which is a moray eel, which lives in a small hole just above the midships hatch. It truly is an experience to just maintain neutral buoyancy alongside the eel and just watch it as its head bobs in the undercurrent. The vessel was already becoming home to a colony of algae last year, and by accounts heard this year, she has added to her covering.
The vessel is safe to be penetrated, but caution is advised. She is not a small vessel, and never forget, she lies at 33 metres and it's a fairly long swim back. In fact, one would advise heading back on 75-100 bar of air to allow for anything unplanned. If you do get back with plenty of air, there's plenty to see back at the reef which leads to the divers' exit.
She's not my favourite dive, but she is a bit of a challenge and you do have to watch yourself in getting there and back. Do not attempt to get to her through a head-on current. She is too far away, too deep and it is too tiring to get there. But if conditions are good, and you pace yourself getting there, you have one of two choices... admire the marine life or have fun on the wreck. The controls are all still in place and you can have a fiddle about on the deck or in the hold. If it is not the height of summer, wear a thick full suit and hood - it can get pretty damn cold down there.
Her sister ship, the P-31 is scuttled in the balmy waters of Comino under the tower in the Tal-Matz area. She is a much easier dive, and is only accessible by boat.

Technical details

The P-29 was built by Peenewerft shipyard as a Minesweeper for the German Navy. She then served with the Armed Forces of Malta for over 12 years and was involved in numerous patrol and border control operations. 

52 x 7 metres, with a 2.3 metre draft, powered by twin diesel engines, max speed 20 knots, max crew 20, 361 tons.

Tugboat Rozie

The tugboat Rozie was never meant to be a diving attraction. She was scuttled off Cirkewwa to be used as an artificial reef so as to be visited by glass-bottomed boats.

She was scuttled in 1992 and in the 18 years since then, she has become a gem of a wreck, as well as a fantastic artificial reef teeming with fish and marine life. She is a shore dive, and to reach her, one must swim round the drop off and take a bearing of 300 degrees from below the lighthouse. If you keep the reef wall to your right, you eventually come across an anchor and a bit further on, you will find the Rozie. She lies at a depth of 34 metres on white sand. 

The Rozie still looks like she should be at sea, with ropes making the ship look like she is ready for a day of work. She's a coppery rust colour and she is just teeming with life. First up, its time to have a look at the stern. 

Visibility is always very good on the Rozie if it's good weather. But the water is full of thermoclines, so be prepared for a few icy blasts. You can take a look at where the engines used to lie, which is now a wide open space, a cavern within the boat. From there, you can take a trip up to the bridge, which is all pretty straightforward. There are blue exits a plenty and it's simple enough to get inside the bridge structure for a play with the knobs and dials.

From there, you descend to the fore deck, and if you want a great treat, just fish (excuse the pun) out the packet of Twistees you put in your BCD pocket and open it up. You might need a knife as the pressure at the depth with vacuum seal the packet. As soon as you open the pack, you can expect every and any fish within 200 metres to swoop down on you for a snack or two. Groupers, rainbow fish, cawl, mullet... all sorts. It really is an experience to look around and see so much marine life which is tame enough to come and literally be fed by hand. After about 10 minutes on the wreck, you should be registering about 50-70 bar of pressure and it's time to head back. The swim back is easy, you can see the anchor on the way, and if you keep the reef wall to your left, you come across a statue of the Madonna which lies in a recess just before the exit point If you are staying for the day, just do your surface interval and then it's time for the P-29, another shore dive that complements the Rozie beautifully.

Wreck History: 
Built in Bristol, England in 1958 by Charles Hill & Sons Ltd for Johnston Warren Lines Ltd, of Liverpool and launched as “Rossmore”. In 1969 sold to Rea Towing Co. Liverpool and renamed “Rossgarth”. In 1972 she was sold to Mifsud Brothers (Malta Ship TowageLtd), retaining her name. In the same year she sailed from Liverpool for Malta where in 1973 she was registered. In 1981 she was sold to Tug Malta and renamed Rozi. Tugboat Rozi operated in Grand Harbour Valletta. In 1992 she was sold to Captain Morgan Cruises and was scuttled in the Northwest side of Malta as an attraction for tourists taking a submarine trip around the area. 

P31 – a jewel in the making

While many divers think that a freshly scuttled wreck is somewhat sterile, there is a good appeal to it.

The P31 was sunk towards the end of last August just under the Tower in Comino. She lies at a depth of 17 metres on white sand and the water is just so unbelievably clear. You do not dive in blue water to see this wreck, you dive in turquoise water. It was August and all you needed was a 1mm suit, it was that warm and being in shallow depth also has its effect.

We set out from Marfa point and kitted up on the boat ride out – a leisurely 10-15 minute cruise from the jetty to underneath the Santa Marija tower. The P-31 is visible from the surface, especially seeing that she lies on a bed of white sand and shows up vividly in the bright seas.

Ben and I were the first to kit up and off we went off the back of the boat. I was actually lucky because I slipped and kind of fell into the water. As always with BCD inflated, there were no injuries, apart from a slight one to my ego.

There was no life on the wreck when we went down, only a few curious little fish having a look here and there. The P-31 is pristine. It’s a lovely descent down, warm all the way to the bottom and it’s a simple case if deflating your BCD and letting yourself just go down. Just before hitting the wreck, it’s a wonderful sensation to just float there, as if you are flying over the wreck. Being at a shallow depth and in incredibly clear water, you can see every bit of detail on her.

All doors have been removed from the wreck to allow entry and steel bars have been put in place to block access to areas that are a bit of a tight fit. Our first stop was the usual tour of the vessel, in through the back down a hatch, and through to the galley. You can even still open and shut the cooker door if you fancy it. From there you can go through into the sleeping quarters, the electronics room and then off into the bow section where you can come up quite nicely under the front of the superstructure. From there its an obligatory stop off at the bridge where you can still play with all the levers and pose for a photograph with the ship’s mascot – Sharkey.

From then on it’s a look at your air supply – and you still have about 150 bar left with a 15 litre tank. So what exactly can you do on a wreck which you have seen end to end and up and down? Do it again from the other side… of course. 

Being in such a safe wreck at a low depth really gives you the confidence to penetrate the vessel, even if it is not your cup of tea. It gives you the facility to practice your entry and exit methods. 

In short, it’s very good practice at doing the ‘real thing’. With 50 bar of air left, we decided that we would take a trip down into the engine room, which was quite fun, especially waving at other divers from the tiny little portholes inside. Another look at the tank and we were on 10 bar, so it really was time to get up and out. We found the anchor and used the line to feel our way up. Then it was time for a quick safety stop – mucking around on the rope for a few minutes and that’s it… dive over.

 Fins off, BCD off and floating in the water and back aboard. A quick kit wash and a cigarette to round off with. The P-31 is not the most interesting of dives, but it certainly offers something just that little bit different. I certainly can't wait to dive on it this summer!

Technical details

The P-31 was scuttled off Comino in the area known as Tal-Matz in August 2009. She is a former German Democratic Republic (East) minesweeper of the Kondor Class. She was commissioned in 1969 and was transferred to the Maltese Maritime Squadron in 1992. She served until 2002. Her most notable adventure was the rescue of 251 illegal immigrants off a leaking ship in Force 6 winds in 2002. She is 51.98 metres long and has a displacement of 361 tons. Her sister ship the P-29 is a slightly more challenging dive just off Cirkewwa.