P29 Patrol Boat

Former East German Kondor-class minesweeper that the Maltese Armed Forces ran as a coastal patrol boat for seven years before scuttling her off Cirkewwa on 14 August 2007 as an artificial reef. The 52 m hull sits upright on a sand flat, bow pointing seaward, with the keel at 34 m, deck around 22 m, and the bridge mast topping out at 12 m below the surface. The bow machine gun was left in place and is the standard photograph divers come back with. Doors and bulkheads were cut for safe penetration of the wheelhouse, engine room and aft cabins, and the steel is now furred with sponges and tubeworms. Open water can be enough if the dive stays on the upper hull, but reaching the bow gun and going inside calls for advanced or wreck training.