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Wreck of the M/S Zenobia - is diving banned?

Listen to this article A few days ago, the diving world received a surprising piece of news – the local authorities closed the diving site of the wreck of M/S Zenobia. The harbour authorities were to explain their action by the doubts which arise when determining the persons or institutions responsible for safety at the

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: March 1, 2012 - 18:21

Updated: February 9, 2023 - 10:21

Wreck of the M/S Zenobia – is diving banned?

Listen to this article

A few days ago, the diving world received a surprising piece of news – the local authorities closed the diving site of the wreck of M/S Zenobia. The harbour authorities were to explain their action by the doubts which arise when determining the persons or institutions responsible for safety at the site where the wreck rests

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The port authority has reportedly banned diving within three miles of Larnaca harbour. This is an area directly under their jurisdiction. In the statement of this decision, however, it was stipulated that diving could continue, on the basis of a system of specific permits, which… would still have to be developed.

This situation has greatly upset the local diving community, who consider the wreck of the M/S Zenobia, to be the biggest tourist attraction in the region. This is mainly due to the versatility of the wreck, which poses a challenge to divers regardless of their level of expertise. For the less experienced it offers the possibility to dive already at a depth of 16m, where the upper parts of the wreck lie, while the more qualified and experienced we are, the deeper we can go down and further venture into the interior of the wreck.

Unfortunately, overestimating one’s own abilities and exploring the wreck too deeply have mainly contributed to 5 fatal accidents since Zenobia hit the bottom in 1980.

After only a few days, however, the information about the closure of the wreck was verified by representatives of local diving companies. According to the information coming from the local diving centres, diving on this wreck takes place without any obstacles.

It turns out that all the fuss was caused by a letter sent by the port authorities, which was misinterpreted by various people and that is where all the fuss came from. At a specially organised press conference, the information about the closure of the M/S Zenobia was verified and, as it turns out, diving can continue unhindered, as it has been so far.

Source: divernet.com
Photo: wikipedia/creative commons

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.