Tugboat St. Michael canvas print

Tugboat St. Michael

Overview

Tugboat St. Michael is one of the 3 wrecks located just off Zonqor point in the bay of Marsascala. She is one of the oldest scuba diving wrecks in Malta, that were scuttled as artificial reef. The length of the tugboat St. Michael is about 20 meters, with a beam of around 5 meters. Tugboat St. Michael sits upright on a sandy bottom at the depth of 20 meters.

The wreck is suitable for beginner divers due to the shallow depth. The other wreck scuttled at the same time is Tug 10. The third wreck is P33 patrol boat. She was scuttled in 2021, have not survived it’s first winter and is now almost destroyed. It is possible to visit all 3 wrecks on a single dive with a single tank.

Tugboat St. Michael is definitely not the biggest wreck out there, but she makes a good second dive, especially if the visibility is good in the area. It is also a good place to dive when the other dives sites are unavailable due to bad weather.

History

Tugboat St. Michael was built in 1944 in Canada. She is one of the 250+ tugboats built in those days. In Malta, she served as a tugboat, helping all kinds of other, bigger ships to enter and exit Grand Harbour in Valletta. Eventually, she flooded and partially sunk along with Tug 10 while she was moored. In 1996, the company that bought both tugboats came to conclusion to pass the ships to diving community.

In 1998, tugboat St. Michael and her fellow friend – Tug 10 were scuttled in the bay of Marsascala. The distance between the wrecks is approximately 50 meters, and there used to be a line connecting the two. The line is now gone, but following along the reef is a sure way not to miss the wrecks.

Diving the wreck of tugboat St. Michael

Diving the wreck is easy. The dive site is equipped with a ladder at the entry point. However, note that the ladder is there only during summer months. There is also a yellow marker buoy affixed in between the two wrecks, so all you need is to set your compass pointing to the buoy.

Once in the water, the reef will slowly descend up to the depth of 17 meters, where it meets the sandy bottom. Once you reach the line where sandy bottom meets the reef – check your depth. If you are below 20 meters – head left. otherwise head right. Both wrecks are lined up and located just a couple of meters from the reef/bottom line, so you should be able to see them easily.

Marine life on the wreck

Tugboat St. Michael is full of artificial life. 25+ years of being underwater made the wreck a truly interesting place. One can expect a good number of sponges, corals and a good amount of algae on the wreck. Normally there is also an abundance of marine life both on and around the wreck.

Divers can see some octopuses next to the wreck and close to the reef. Rays are also frequent guests coming from the sandy bottom. The wreck of tugboat St. Michael is also a good place to try your luck and spot an electric (or torpedo) ray.