MV Rozi

The Rozi is proof that a small wreck done well beats a big one done badly. Built in Bristol in 1958, she spent decades as a working tug — much of it shoving ships around Malta's Grand Harbour after coming to the island in the early 1980s — before being sold, stripped of engine and propeller, and scuttled in 1992 off Ċirkewwa point, originally as scenery for tourist-submarine rides. The submarines are long gone; the divers never left. She sits bolt upright on sand at about 34 meters against the base of Ċirkewwa's reef, complete in silhouette from bluff bow to tug's rounded stern, wheelhouse open and mast standing. Because she is compact, divers actually finish her: a full circuit, a pass through the wheelhouse, time hovering off the bow for the classic photograph, then back up the reef wall in a natural multilevel profile that also suits shore entries from the point. Three decades down, she is Malta's most thoroughly colonized wreck — walls of damselfish above her, morays and octopus in the fittings — and the traditional companion dive to the nearby P29.

How she sank: Deliberately scuttled as an underwater attraction off Ċirkewwa, 1992.

Condition: Upright, intact and heavily encrusted; among the most complete small wrecks in the Mediterranean

Penetration: Limited. The open wheelhouse and short deckhouse passages are simple; the engineless hull below is confined and best admired from the openings. Entering any overhead environment requires specific training — a wreck certification at minimum, technical wreck training for full penetration.

Recommended certification: Advanced Open Water

Current: Mild · Visibility: 20–35 m

Marine life: Clouds of chromis over the mast, moray eels and octopus in the deck gear, scorpionfish on the rails, painted comber and cardinalfish inside.

Hazards: Depth at the sand, boat traffic at Ċirkewwa, and swell on the shore exit