Events: Um el Faroud Scuttling

Um el Faroud scuttling comes in for praise

"After the disappointment on the loss to Turkey of the M.V. Cittadella, the Calypso Sub-Aqua Club would like to express its satisfaction for the Government's decision to scuttle the tanker Um el Faroud at Wied Iz-Zurrieq thereby providing an excellent diving site for the hundreds of Maltese and tourist divers alike.

Such a decision will not only enhance the marine environment through the creation of an artificial reef but also the diving industry and the service providers of Wied Iz-Zurrieq. The Um el Faroud Wreck will now top the list of other popular diving wrecks namely, the Tugboat Rozi at Cirkewwa, the Carolita at Manoel Island, the H.M.S. Maori at Marsamxett and the more recent scuttled tugboats at Marsascala.

The Calypso Sub-Aqua Club hopes that the government continues such initiatives in favour of eco-tourism by supporting the setting up of underwater marine parks like the Imperial Eagle marine park at Qawra."

Only eight months after the scuttling on a sandy seabed at 36 metres, the Um el Faroud wreck is already teeming with a wide variety of fauna and flora. Fish species include shoals of barracuda's (litz) and squids (klamari), while the deck is swarming with thousands and thousands of bogues (vopi), which literally form living waterfalls down the wreck sides when approached. Plant life is also on a steady increase and most of the wreck is now covered with a variety of sponges.

For divers keen on wreck penetration the Um el Faroud offers a lot of passages with relatively easy exits. Such passages include the bridge hatches, cabins and galleys, hatches on the hull just below deck and for the more adventurous, stairs down to the engine room, a shaft that goes straight down from behind the chimney right to the engine room, and a passage from the engine room to a frontal compartment which leads above deck and out of the the bridge front.

The holds are easily accessible following the blast that wrenched open the deck when the vessel was still in the docks. The bows also feature a frontal compartment which can be explored.

Images © Mario Gauci & Sarah Gauci Carlton

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