Ocean Diver

History and context

The Ocean Diver was a Dutch iron river barge, 23 metres long with a 5.8 m beam, built to carry coal and other bulk cargo along the canals of the Netherlands and later converted into a kind of houseboat. She arrived in Maó harbour in the late 1980s, painted electric blue and capable of barely 2-3 knots, and was moored at Punta des Gas on the Moll de Llevant, from where she hardly ever moved again. Modernisation works on the Moll de Llevant forced her to Cala Teulera, where she lay at anchor for months until her owners abandoned her for good. Given her obvious decay and the risk of her sinking in a busy boating area, the Port Authority moved her to the Naval Station and, with no buyer to be found, chose to scuttle her. On 26 November 1991 she was towed out and sunk off Son Bou beach, some 1,200 metres from shore, with a double purpose: to create an artificial reef and to deter illegal bottom trawling in shallow waters. She rests perfectly upright at 25-27 metres, on sand and Posidonia oceanica meadow.

Sinking date

26 November 1991

Cause

Deliberately sunk after years of abandonment and decay in Maó harbour

Vessel type

Dutch iron river barge converted into a houseboat

Length and beam

23 m long, 5.8 m beam

Location

About 1,200 m off Son Bou beach

Depth

25-27 m, upright on sand and posidonia