One of the dive sites we run here in Malta — here's the story behind it, the depth and access, and what it takes to dive it properly.
HMS Maori was a Tribal-class destroyer built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering at Govan, Scotland, and launched on 2 September 1937. She measured 115m long with an 11m beam and carried a crew of around 190. Like all her class she was named after an indigenous people — here New Zealand's Maori. During the Second World War she served in the Mediterranean. On 12 February 1942, during a German air raid on Malta, she was hit in the engine room at around 2am while moored at the emergency destroyer buoy near Dockyard Creek in Grand Harbour. She caught fire, her aft magazine exploded, and she sank stern-first at her moorings, blocking a vital shipping lane; her bow remained visible until daybreak. Her two forward guns were salvaged and re-mounted at Fort Ricasoli as a shore battery. In 1945 the British refloated the wreck, but while being towed towards Fort St Elmo for scuttling roughly two-thirds of the aft section broke away and sank in deeper water. The remaining bow section was scuttled in the shallows of St Elmo Bay at about 16m. Today the wreck is roughly 42m long and quite broken, lying nearly upright with a slight list to port and half-buried in sand — the bows and stern are gone, but the main deck, gun-mounting bases, hatches, anchor chain and bollards remain recognisable, with numerous swim-throughs (mind the weak structure and sharp edges). Easy shore access and shallow depth make it a great novice wreck while still drawing experienced divers and photographers, and it now teems with life as an artificial reef.
Good news: this site is well within reach of recreational and advanced recreational divers — no technical certification needed to enjoy it. Come and dive it with me, and when you’re ready to push deeper into Malta’s technical sites, here’s where to head next:
Already certified and just want to dive it? Come and explore it with me on open circuit or CCR — one relaxed dive a day, no rushing, as long in the water as you like.
Want to dive HMS Maori? Tell me your certification level and your dates, and I'll plan it with you. No pressure, no hard sell — just a good dive.