Wreck diving in the Costa Cálida

Many of the most popular wreck dives in Murcia are to ships which sank 100 years ago

Others are to wrecks which were sunk as artificial reefs

Underwater archaeology is of particular importance in the Costa Cálida due to the discovery of numerous wrecks dating back to the Middle Ages, the period of Roman colonization and even, at the site of Bajo de la Campana and off the beach of Playa de la Isla in Puerto de Mazarrón, to around 600 BC, when Phoenician trading vessels carried cargoes along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian peninsula.

This proliferation of ancient wrecks under the surface of the Mediterranean is one of the reasons why Spain’s national underwater archaeology museum, the Arqua, is located in Cartagena, but of course there are countless other wrecks from more recent times, and many of these are at depths which make them attractive destinations for excursions organized by the dive centres on the coast of the Region of Murcia. Numerous among them date from the First and Second World Wars, and although they are encrusted with corals and large gorgonians they are large enough to offer what are known as penetration dives.

Apart from the corals the wrecks are generally home to a wide variety of marine fauna, including large conger eels, sunfish and many other exotic species.

The wrecks to which dives are regularly organized in the Costa Cálida include the following:

In the area of Cabo de Palos and La Manga del Mar Menor

The Isla Gomera - Also known as the "Naranjito" on account of the oranges it was carrying when it went down, the 52-metre Isla Gomera sank in 1946 to a depth of between 27 and 46 metres 1.36 miles from the port of Cabo de Palos, with one passenger dying in the wreck. The cargo, which had shifted during a storm causing the boat to list and take on water, washed up on the shore over the following weeks.

Groupers, sea bass, dentex, sea bream, lobsters and conger and moray eels can be seen here, and sunfish also make occasional appearances.

The dive is suitable for advanced divers.

The L’Illa (or Carbonero) – The L’Illa, an Italian steamship, was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boot approximately 10 kilometres east of La Manga del Mar Menor on east on 13^th October 1917. Originally the ship had been launched as the Thordisa, and at the time of its sinking it was transporting coal for the French army, hence the name by which it is most often known (“carbón” is the Spanish for coal).

The torpedo attack occurred during an attempt to help the under-attack SS Doris, and the impact near the engine room broke the ship in two: the wreck now lies between 42 and 46 metres under the surface.

The marine fauna includes large conger eels, jacks and common dentex feeding off smaller shoals, and pollock, amberjacks and sunfish occasionally make appearances.

Wrecks sunk by the navy diver training centre – a CBA tug boat was sunk by the Spanish navy for dive training purposes in the 1950’s by the navy for training of their divers. It is 20 metres long and 4 metres wide, and it is possible to swim inside at some points.

Only around 20 metres away is a Harrier jet fuselage which was also placed there by the navy, and which provides an interesting photo opportunity as divers sit inside the cockpit!

Marine life commonly seen in the area includes scorpion fish, moray eels, nudibranch and sea bream.

The Turia and the Ulla – These two wrecks lie 300 metres apart between Cabo de Palos and Isla Grosa, and having first served as minesweepers were deliberately sunk as artificial reefs and dive attractions in 1999. The Ulla is relatively intact.

At depths of between 21 and 35 metres they are used as shelters by small schooling fish such as anchovies and sardines, and these have in turn attracted larger, predatory fish such as mackerel and sea bream. The visibility at the wrecks is between 12 and 30 metres, and they are sheltered from most marine currents.

As at other locations in the marine reserve of Cabo de Palos and Islas Hormigas, between August and October it is not uncommon to see huge bait balls which attract pelagic fish such as tuna, dentex and jacks as well as other predators.

The SS Stanfield - a highly technical dive is needed to visit the remains of this 120-metre merchant shipping vessel, which was transporting coal for the Italian army during the First World War and according to the captain was sunk when it was hit by a torpedo fired from a German U-boat.

But on 25th June 1915, when the sinking occurred, it has since been established that there was no submarine in the area, and it is thought that the most likely explanation is that the vessel struck either the rocks of the Bajo de Fuera or another ship in the same convoy. This is borne out by the destruction suffered by the prow and the Morse code machine on board, which contains the message “full speed backward”!

The wreck lies upright and must have sunk bow first, as there is considerable damage to the bow. This makes it possible to penetrate onto different decks and the hold, and other interesting areas are the huge propeller and the captain’s deck.

The dive is suitable only for technical divers as the depth (45 to 62 metres) requires decompression.

Bajo de Fuera - a 100-metre-long ridge of rock beyond the small lighthouse of Islas Hormigas which rises from 55 metres to only 3 metres beneath the surface, and which caused numerous shipwrecks and sinkings in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. These include the disaster of the sinking of the Sirio in 1906, when around 500 of the 1,000 emigrants on board heading from Italy to the USA lost their lives.

The slopes of the ridge are littered with debris from at least four large ships, and other wrecks include the Nord America, an Italian freighter which sank while carrying iron ingots in 1883, and the Minerva, which ran onto the rocks during a severe storm in 1899.

The wreck of the Francolí - a Spanish merchant ship which was carrying fertilizer when it was sunk by U-Boot 49 under Commander Alfred Ehrensberger on 1st October 1918, leaving the 14 crew to be rescued by a French merchant vessel. This was the last ship sunk by UB 49. Depth 48 metres.

La Azohía and Cabo Tiñoso

The Angelo Parodi - this Italian merchant vessel was sunk on 13th December 1917 by a torpedo fired from the German U-38 submarine under the command of Max Valentiner (who was later succeeded by Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the German Abwehr military intelligence unit during the Second World War.)

This is a deep dive, reaching 105 metres, but while the prow is badly damaged the stern is intact.

Mazarrón

The wreck of the Nalón – this Spanish navy minesweeper was sunk in 1999 to create an artificial reef and lies at a depth of 33 metres beneath the surface of the Mediterranean. Divers used to be able to visit parts of the interior including the captain’s cabin of the ship during a 30-minute immersion, but now its condition has deteriorated and it is home to gilthead and white sea bream, drum and even the occasional barracuda or sunfish.

The minesweeper belonged to the MSC-139 “Bluebird” class and was launched in 1952 before being delivered to the Spanish navy in 1954.

Águilas

La Losa del Cobacho – a location for advanced divers which includes the wrecks of the Montoya, the Sable and the Hermanos Mayor. These wrecks, at depths of between 24 and 42 metres, are home to fish including barracuda, dentex, sunfish and swallowtail sea perch.

Cueva de la Virgen – almost entirely protected from marine currents, this site is home to various wrecks, including those of the Ana María and the Nueva Mi Teresa along with the tail of an aircraft, all of them at a depth of around 25 metres. The entrance to a 7-metre-long tunnel lies at a depth of 12 metres.

The Mi Teresa was sunk in 1999 to a depth of 29 metres, and is now home to eels and saddled and white sea bream.

The wreck of the Fontanet – although this is a relatively simple dive it can be made more complicated by strong currents on occasion, and as well as the stern of the old fishing boat the Fontanet there are torpedo rays, black spot grenadiers, lizard fish and Atlantic stargazers, one of the few fish species able to generate an electric current! Depth 12 to 19 metres.