Wrecks of the Black Sea

She was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast for the British Ministry of War Transport. Launched on 28 May 1942 and completed in December, she made her first voyage in January 1943, from Liverpool to Sydney. During the war she sailed as Empire Strength and carried defensive armament for merchant ships.

She later sailed as Saxon Star, Redbrook and, from 1965, Evangelia. On 15 October 1968, travelling in ballast from Rijeka to Constanța, she ran aground at Costinești. She was declared a total loss. Today the hull is broken, large sections of starboard plating are gone, and the superstructure has gradually collapsed.

The submarine was built at Mykolaiv, launched on 13 April 1937 and joined the Soviet Black Sea Fleet in October 1938. She had diesel-electric propulsion, six torpedo tubes, ten torpedoes and two 45 mm semi-automatic guns, with a speed of about 12.5 to 14 knots surfaced and 6 to 7 knots submerged.

In February 1942 she torpedoed the Struma, a tragedy in which almost all the refugees on board died. Shch-213 was lost in October 1942, most likely after striking the mine S-7. The wreck was found about 12 nautical miles from Constanța in November 2008 and identified in 2010, partly by the type of her gyrocompass. The whole crew died, and the site must be treated as a war grave.

She should not be confused with a Maliutka-class submarine, as she is in some older accounts.

Moskva was a Soviet destroyer leader built at Mykolaiv, launched in 1934 and commissioned in 1938. On 26 June 1941 she took part in the naval raid on Constanța alongside Kharkov. During the withdrawal a powerful explosion broke the ship apart. The cause is still disputed: a mine, defensive gunfire or an accidentally launched torpedo.

The stern section was located and surveyed in 2011. It lies on its port side at about 30°, with the seabed at around 45 m and the highest points at about 38 m. The bow section has not been confirmed at the same site. The depth, possible munitions and military status reserve this wreck for very experienced technical divers.

Built in 1962, she had previously sailed as Barbara, Barkand and Marianna. In 1980 she was bought by the Maria Bacolitsa Shipping Corporation. On her last voyage she carried about 22,000 t of pig iron from Vitória, Brazil, to Constanța.

On 1 March 1980 she sent an SOS, and contact was lost. The wreck was found on 2 May 1980. The hull is broken in two, with the sections about 500 m apart. The bow is damaged and scattered, while the stern, intact and impressive in scale, was identified in 2014 during the Heras project with GeoEcoMar. The cause of the sinking and the exact fate of the crew have never been established.

Registered in Hong Kong, with a crew of 27, she drifted in bad weather on 4 January 1995 and struck the north breakwater of the Port of Constanța. She lies on her side. The wreck keeps its decks, superstructure, accommodation and engine room, which makes it valuable for progressive wreck diving training.

Her size can give a false sense of safe space. Penetration carries the risks of disorientation, silt, sharp edges, nets and no direct way to the surface. The interior is only for qualified wreck divers, with a continuous guideline and redundant planning.

On her last voyage Sadu left Constanța and got into difficulty near the port. She grounded by the north breakwater, with about 20 m of water under her keel. Her anchoring position and the way the incident unfolded complicated the rescue, and the ship was lost. She lies right beside You Xiu.

Today she rests on a sandy bottom at about 21 m and is one of the wrecks used for diver training, in suitable conditions. The depth keeps her within recreational limits, but the nearby port infrastructure, currents, shipping and changeable visibility call for local coordination and respect for navigation restrictions.

The Maltese ship sank in 1995 in a storm, after striking the port breakwater. The wreck lies in two sections on a sandy bottom very close to the north breakwater of the Port of Constanța. Its relief, structural pieces and shelter for marine life make for an interesting route, with snag points and damaged metal edges.

The depth is about 22 m, but the port location is the deciding factor: access is arranged with local operators, depending on traffic and conditions on the day.

She was sailing from the Turkish port of Ereğli to Constanța with building materials. Near the southern coast she was caught by bad weather, and on 26 July 2007 the storm sank her near the resort of Venus.

All six crew members were saved, but the ship went down before rescue teams could recover her. The wreck lies at about 36 m, close to the recreational limit, and calls for careful control of bottom time and gas reserve.

Fire broke out on board the Mitera Zafira on 18 March 1973, near Tuzla. It destroyed the ship's structure, the crew abandoned her, and she sank shortly afterwards. The remains are heavily degraded and scattered today, also battered by storms.

Sophia sank in the early 20th century and lies abeam of Tuzla at about 47 m. The depth places the dive in the technical or advanced range, depending on the profile, gas, bottom time and the standards of the training organisation.

Built in Amsterdam in 1957 as the Steven, she had a capacity of about 3,851 DWT. Under the Greek flag she left Brăila with 3,575.52 t of rolled steel for Alexandria. On 19 February 1981 a storm caught her and she ran aground a few hundred metres off the beach at Vama Veche, in only a few metres of water.

The crew was rescued, but the ship could not be saved. The cargo was removed about 20 years later. Corrosion and waves have steadily worn the structure away. Today only fragments are periodically visible, especially part of the bow above the water.

The German cargo ship Arkadia sank in 1943 after striking a mine. She is 84 m long and lies off Năvodari at 17 to 31 m.

Medy is a 111 m Turkish cargo ship that sank for unknown reasons in 1982. She lies offshore from Eforie Sud, between 22 and 36 m.

Vishva Shanti, a 156 m Indian cargo ship, sank in 1968 in a storm after striking the Constanța breakwater. Most of the ship was salvaged. What remains lies on the seabed beside the breakwater at 12 m.