MS Zenobia
The Zenobia was a Swedish Challenger-class roll-on/roll-off ferry, 172 m long and 28 m wide, built by Kockums and launched in 1979. On her maiden voyage in 1980, bound for Syria with over 100 lorries, a fault in the computer-controlled ballast system made her list more and more; she was towed off Larnaca and capsized on 7 June 1980. She lies on her port side at about 42 m roughly 1.5 km off Larnaca, with the shallowest parts at about 16-18 m. The lorries, car decks, bridge and engine room make it one of the best-known wrecks in the Mediterranean, and groupers, barracuda, moray eels, lionfish and turtles live on it.
Facts
- Region: Cyprus – Larnaca & Ayia Napa
- Area: Larnaca Bay (Zenobia, Larnaca MPA)
- Depth: 16–42 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 34.89217, 33.6545 (approximate)
- Highlights: 172 m Swedish ro-ro ferry on her port side, over 100 lorries still on the car decks, groupers, barracuda, moray eels, turtles, lionfish
- Tips: Boat only. Advanced Open Water (and boat diver) is the minimum, and you need two or more dives to see the wreck. Enter the car decks and engine room only with wreck training; nitrox and a torch are useful. Currents are occasional. Tourism pages call the surroundings a marine protected area with no fishing; the sources mention no diving permit, but ask your centre about current rules.