A Scottish ferry that crossed the Firth of Tay for fifteen years, worked as a film barge on the set of Popeye, and now sits in a quiet inlet near Anchor Bay. One of the more unusual stories among Malta's wrecks.
MV Scotscraig was built in 1951 by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Dundee, Scotland, as a passenger and vehicle ferry — she carried up to six cars at a time on the Tay Ferry Service, shuttling across the Firth of Tay between Dundee and Newport-on-Tay in Fife. She was named after Scotscraig, a place near Tayport, just along the coast from her route. In 1966 the Tay Road Bridge opened, replacing the ferry service outright — Scotscraig made her final crossing on the same day the bridge opened. She and her sister ship, MV Abercraig, were sold on to Malta; the Abercraig was eventually scrapped, but the Scotscraig had one more act ahead of her.
She turned up as a supply and filming barge for Popeye, the 1980 film starring Robin Williams, shot at Anchor Bay on the site that's now the Popeye Village theme park. Once filming wrapped, she was put to work again — submerged as a barge and breakwater during construction of the concrete jetty at Anchor Bay. Afterwards, while being towed away to a new location, she took on water in bad weather, broke her tow ropes, and went down — probably in 1981, in an inlet known as Ic-Cumnija, about 500m northwest of Anchor Bay. She lies upright on seagrass, shingle and sand, around 25m long and fairly wide for her size. The steel hull is breaking down after decades underwater but is still largely intact, and the lower deck can be penetrated by those with the training for it.
It's a relatively shallow, sheltered site, which makes it a good option when the weather rules out something more exposed — though visibility can drop off in poor conditions, since the inlet isn't immune to swell and surge stirring up the bottom. On a good day it's an easy, relaxed wreck dive with plenty to look at: moray and conger eels tucked into the structure, groupers holding station around the hull, octopuses in the gaps, and the occasional stingray passing over the sand nearby. The lower deck offers some light penetration for those who are trained and briefed for it, but there's just as much to see swimming the outside of the hull.
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 the Scotscraig? Tell me your certification level and your dates, and I'll plan it with you. No pressure, no hard sell — just a good dive.