The Maltese way - a full diver and full wrecks

Malta is one of the most interesting diving destinations. A very diverse diving profile in terms of tastes and training, makes this country a fantastic destination for many trips that will allow you to discover something new every now and again. What is, however, number 1 in Malta and Gozo, are definitely the wrecks. And it is the local approach to the sunken past that will be discussed.

Archaeological research has been carried out systematically in the waters off Malta and Gozo for many years. Several very important sites of underwater cultural heritage have been discovered, mapped and investigated as part of this long-term project. However, what is extremely important is that the local authorities want their discoveries to be accessible to tourists visiting Malta.

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And among them are, among others, the 2,700-year-old Phoenician shipwreckThe oldest shipwreck in the central Mediterranean, but also dozens of others, much more contemporary, including many wrecks of aircraft or warships from the period of the First and Second World War.

Archaeologists studying the coastal waters of Malta and Gozo stress that the islands’ heritage encompasses a wide variety of peoples and cultures – both past and present. It is this diversity that makes Malta the custodian of an exceptionally well-preserved cultural resource that belongs to all mankind.

Recognising this responsibility, the Government of Malta, through the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Councils, created a platform for the management, protection and valorisation of underwater resources. This was done through the establishment of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit (UCHU) within Heritage Malta, the national agency managing Malta’s heritage collections, sites and museums.

UCHU, in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Supervisor, has been tasked with identifying a number of underwater sites so that they can be protected and accessible to divers in a controlled way that allows this heritage to be shared while being protected.

Intensive and systematic work has created a system which has created a network of sites extremely attractive to the diving tourist, but at the same time allows for the protection of historical monuments and further exploration and research, which will lead, among other things, to making more wrecks accessible. It is difficult to find any shortcomings here and it seems that we are dealing with a win-win situation.

There is no denying that the approach of the Maltese and Gozitan authorities is effective and reconciles many interest groups. So much so that other countries are starting to move in a similar direction. We recently reported that with the beginning of August, in Greece, a wreck full of amphorae from the 5th century BC was opened to divers.

It remains for us to cheer the countries that choose this path, preferably by choosing them as the destination of a diving expedition. Every conscious and responsible diver, who wants to experience something unique, will surely experience incredible moments admiring such amazing wrecks, with a well-documented and described history.

Also in Poland the first steps are being taken to start the march in this direction. The Baltic Sea is a wreck paradise and every year attracts hundreds, if not thousands of divers from all over the world. In our waters we have wonderful wrecks, with which amazing, but also tragic stories are connected. Unfortunately, most of them are not available for divers, due to the current regulations, which in theory are supposed to provide protection to the wrecks. Unfortunately, here the theory does not go hand in hand with practice, which we could clearly see…

Source: Heritage Malta