As a dive site, the Zenobia provides a wide range
of challenges to scuba divers, from a fairly
simple dive to 16 meters depth
along the starboard side of the ship
(suitable for newly qualified divers);
moving up to a more advanced
dive inside the upper car deck;
right up to extremely adventurous
dives within the lower car deck or
the accommodation section
(which are only suitable for very experienced divers).
.
Although all hands were safely taken off the
ship before she sank,
the lives of a few scuba divers, who didn't
treat the wreck with
the proper level of caution, have been lost
in the intervening years.
There was also a truckload of animals on
board who also died
when the ship went down;
their bones can still be
seen in one of the wagons on the main deck.
Scuba Diving in Cyprus
Dive Site: Zenobia
Location: 10 minutes from Larnaca
Description: 10,000 ton ferry
Length: 178 metres (584 feet)
Depth: 16 metres (52 feet) to the top of the wreck, 
The Zenobia is the dive people visit Cyprus for.
It is a large, roll-on roll-off ferry that was
built to operate in the eastern Mediterranean.
It was during its maiden voyage
from Sweden to Syria that it sank. The steering was not working correctly, so the Captain made the decision to pull into Larnaca Harbour. Here engineers noticed a major problemwith the onboard computer system that resulted in water being pumped into the ships ballast tanks
The Zenobia was towed into deeper waters
about half a mile from Larnaca so that the engineers
could work on the problem, but it was listing to
an angle of 45° so it was decided that there was nothing
that could be done to save the ferry.
The Captain requested that the
Zenobia should be taken back to the harbour,
but permission was never granted as a ship of that
size would effectively prevent traffic from entering
Larnaca Harbour. It took two days for the ferry to sink,
taking the 104 articulated lorries that it had on board with it.
What a wreck!
I dived the Zenobia four times for about an hour each and only saw a fraction of this magnificent wreck. Thanks to a no removal rule, the wreck is greatly intact and filed with items. I descended the shot line to about
16 m and decided which way to go. The propellers are intact and lead to the seabed at 42 metres where you can find the egg lorry and its cargo. Please watch your buoyancy as divers have unfortunately crushed a number of these. The aft truck passage is a great swim through, almost 100m long and clear with exits at the end. Check your air if you want to do the whole route as there are no exits apart from right at the end. Watch out for the oil at the larger entrance. The bridge is quite bare but there is a
lift shaft to go through. The canteen and accommodation deck is quite good, but watch out for loose wires and keep your orientation or stay close to your guide. There is plenty of sea life and the barracuda are good. Also, if you are lucky,
keep an eye out for the tourist submarine that tours the wreck, as it will have divers feeding the fish so is a good show. The winch gear at the front is worth a look and so are the lifeboats. Be wary as there is a lot to see and you may drift deep. Plan this dive as to where you will want to go and it easily takes a few dives to view this wreck. Nitrox is pricey in local shop so plan ahead. Plenty to see and enjoy on one of the best wrecks under the sea. . Ousmon Sadique, BSAC Dive Leader
DIVING DIVERS CENTER
THE BEST SCUBA DIVING SCHOOL IN LARNACA BAY
PADI 5* IDC CENTER AND RESORT ASSOCIATION
THE VIKING WATERSPORTS
200M FROM THE DIVING CENTER
DAILY TRIPS TO ZENOBIA WRECK
AND SAFARI TO EXCLUSIVE DIVE SITES
P.O.BOX 42589 6500 LARNACA CYPRUS
TEL/FAX 00357-24644676
E-MAIL vdivers@spidernet.com.cy
http://www.viking-divers.com/
.
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