The wreck of the
Maldives Victory lies on the western side of the airport-island, Hulule, precisely near the first quarter of the southern side of the landing strip. The wreck lies parallel to the reef on the sandy sea bed at a depth of 35 metres (115 feet), upright and with the bowsprit pointing north.
In the early morning hours of Friday, 13 February 1981, this 35,000-ton freighter ran at full speed onto the southern tip of the airport island. Since it had not been built with watertight bulkheads, the ship sank in the space of about an hour even though the hole was fairly small. The sailors and the few passengers aboard managed to make their way to the landing strip, only about thirty metres (a hundred feet) away; all were rescued, and none were even injured. The freighter was only ten years old, and hailed from Singapore; the holds were full of merchandise, chiefly for the tourist facilities.
Even just a few hours after the Maldive Victory sank, a great number of fish had begun to establish residence in and about the ship. For more than a decade now, the superstructures have been patrolled by a large school of batfish (Platax teira), while a number of barracuda (Sphyraena sp.) hover above the deck; those who swim around the wreck are provided with an escort of humphead wrasses (Cheilinus undulatus). Large schools of fusiliers (Caesio sp.) dart through the water, as a foreshadowing of the fact that in the pipes, passageways, nooks and crannies of this ship, one will encounter all of the animal species that can normally be found on reefs, and in grottoes and underwater caverns. During a number of dives, one will encounter a large sea turtle sleeping at the tip of the bowsprit of the Maldive Victory.
Facts about The Victory Wreck
It is in Maldives- The Victory Wreck is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.