Cyprus Dives, Zenobia Wreck

[PR_SMITH]

I was in Cyprus recently and had the pleasure of diving the Zenobia Wreck. It's a huge car/truck ferry that went down with trucks still chained to the deck.

About Zenobia Wreck​

This is one of the best wreck dives that you will ever dive – the world-famous wreck of the Zenobia is listed in the top ten wrecks worldwide.
The ‘roll-on roll off‘ ferry sank in 1980 just one and a half miles off the coast in the Larnaca Bay. With a length of 178 metres and most cargo still in place this dive is a must for every experienced diver staying in Cyprus.
The wreck lies on its port side with many of the 104 trucks still visible and the marine life on the wreck is in abundance, with large groupers, wrasses, breams and a large resident turtle.

Dive Level​

The depth of the Zenobia starts at 18 metres and reaches the seabed at 42 metres.
This dive is only suitable for experienced divers.

I dove with and highly recommend Home | Coral Bay Divers | Best Diving In Cyprus, Paphos

 

[ElCarlos]

This dive is only suitable for experienced divers.

I would rather say the Zenobia offers so much, even for experienced divers.

 

[snowman40]

'Experienced Divers' is a very broad term.

Does that mean someone who's done 10 dives or 50 or 100 or 500?

I think a competent OWD should be able to see the wreck's starboard side, the 'top' without problems, especially as most dives seem to start from and return to a single point.

Penetration, obviously, requires good buoyancy control, but it doesn't demand many dives if the diver is capable, imo.

The darker, deeper parts of the wreck obviously require the diver to be calm and capable in the dark/confined spaces - The Engine room, regardless of depth, isn't a place for someone with a limited number of dives or even 100s of dives in warm, clear water.

I wouldn't discourage anyone diving the Zenobia, but obviously a better, more experienced diver will have more opportunities to explore it.

 

[PR_SMITH]

I would rather say the Zenobia offers so much, even for experienced divers.

Not my words, actually. I just copied from a website ;-)

 

[ElCarlos]

The darker, deeper parts of the wreck obviously require the diver to be calm and capable in the dark/confined spaces

Right but there are also a lot of swim throughs suitable for not that experienced but a diver who has the basic skill under control.

 

[JMBL]

Dived the Zen some years ago, not bad, not my favorite wreck in the Med, nice memory still. Best part for me was playing the groupers while following the hull.

As far as wreck penetration is concerned, I doubt any operators in Cyprus will get any divers deep inside. There were several fatal accidents in the 90s, involving divers getting lost inside. There was a documentary by Celine and Fabien Cousteau a year or two ago about the whole story of the Zen, the supposed weapons trafficking and the blasting of the ship by foreign agents. The doc showed the inside of the wreck, with all its cargo. Not impossible, but a tough dive, requiring a special training.

 

[snowman40]

Dived the Zen some years ago, not bad, not my favorite wreck in the Med, nice memory still. Best part for me was playing the groupers while following the hull.

As far as wreck penetration is concerned, I doubt any operators in Cyprus will get any divers deep inside. There were several fatal accidents in the 90s, involving divers getting lost inside. There was a documentary by Celine and Fabien Cousteau a year or two ago about the whole story of the Zen, the supposed weapons trafficking and the blasting of the ship by foreign agents. The doc showed the inside of the wreck, with all its cargo. Not impossible, but a tough dive, requiring a special training.

Not sure what you mean by deep inside, but operators regularly take people into the closed car decks and the engine room.

Maybe you're thinking of places not usually visited, but the places I mentioned are certainly deep inside (entry through dark decks and small openings - certainly not for DIY visits if you're not very familiar with the wreck) and dark (no natural light).

The documentary sounds good, any idea if it's online or streamed anywhere? ETA - Found it here -

M

 

[JMBL]

Maybe you're thinking of places not usually visited

That was was point, maybe I wasn't clear enough, sorry for that.

 

[CaptainChris]

Not sure what you mean by deep inside, but operators regularly take people into the closed car decks and the engine room.

Maybe you're thinking of places not usually visited, but the places I mentioned are certainly deep inside (entry through dark decks and small openings - certainly not for DIY visits if you're not very familiar with the wreck) and dark (no natural light).

The documentary sounds good, any idea if it's online or streamed anywhere? ETA - Found it here -

M

Watched this when it first came out and not impressed. Typical documentary over the top dramatisation and "conjecture". Have deco dived the middle cargo deck a couple of times and its not a place to hang about in for sure and when you see lorries in there still hanging on chains "what if" thoughts crop up and its pitch black! Not for the faint hearted!!
Personally I prefer diving around the outside and occasionally into the accommodation area as more relaxing and a quick way up if needed. Each to their own of course.

 

[CaptainChris]

There are a few dive centres in Cyprus that will take qualified divers into various areas of the Zen, forecastle, accommodation, upper & lower cargo decks, engine room and also do various technical courses there too.
Non tech dives are available with minimum requirements being AOW or equivalent and some deep experience. Usually customers are treated on a case by case/experience basis and often with a check dive beforehand to get to know the customer before deciding if the "dive leader" is happy to take them. Sometimes Advanced courses will be completed there with the Deep and Wreck dives.
All that said you will see DSD at the Zen and that is quite interesting to see when you are hanging around at the ascent safety stop. Last year I saw a DSD panic and pull the reg out, pity my camera was clipped off by then, but maybe for the best.

Safe Diving.