WW2 Wreck, Grand Harbour Valletta, Malta

The Drifter Eddy was built in Aberdeen, Scotland for the British Royal Navy. It is another one of the many World War II wrecks situated around the Maltese Islands. The British WW2 vessel sunk after hitting a mine on the 26th of May 1942 whilst returning to the Grand Harbour after clearing a channel up North that were mined by Italian E-Boats, the night before. Unfortunately, she lost 8 of her crew that day. Ironically her job was to sweep for mines in Malta during the War before being hit herself.

Physically, the Eddy was of 27m in length, and a beam of 6 meters and now sits on a sandy seabed, upright at 56m deep. It is located around 1.5km off from St. Elmos Bay in Valletta.

HMS Drifter Eddy WW2 Wreck

Inside it’s hull there is a hole on the starboard side. This is where the mine hit; close to the hull on the Eddies starboard side close to the stern. However, although unfortunate when the mine hit, and sank the Eddie, the good thing is that the hole the mine had made is large enough for divers to swim through into the hold.

Some penetration is still possible, however most of the wooden structure of the boat has collapsed. The wreck is full of silt on the inside so visibility can quickly become a disaster.

HMS Drifter Eddy WW2 Wreck

This wreck is very difficult to get access to and can only be dived by the very experienced technical divers due to the depth the wreck lies at.

It sits lying in deep water inside of the Grand Harbour of Valletta which makes it very difficult to get to since the harbour has such busy boat traffic.

The Drifter Eddie had been discovered on the 26th of October in 1995.

HMS Drifter Eddy WW2 Wreck

DIVE SITE SPECIFICATION: HMS Drifter Eddy WW2 Wreck

  • Location: Grand Harbour Valletta
  • Depth: 56m (avg), 56m (max)
  • Type Of Dive: Boat Dive
  • HMS Drifter Eddy WW2 Wreck

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