La Mariana platform
La Mariana is a former fish-farm platform that stands about 500 m west of the island of S'Espardell, in the channel between Ibiza and Formentera. After abandonment some pillars and floats failed and the platform collapsed sideways to the seabed, now a landscape of limestone-like columns and metal structures compared to a sunken Atlantis. The shallowest part is at about 11 m and the bottom at about 32–33 m; divers swim through big arches among scorpionfish, moray eels and large schools of barracuda, and the account recommends not going too deep too early. Position from the Consell de Formentera dive catalogue.
Facts
- Region: Spain – Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera
- Area: Formentera
- Depth: 11–33 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: wreck, reef
- Coordinates: 38.78972, 1.4725
- Highlights: collapsed former fish farm, barracuda, scorpionfish and moray eels, columns and large arches, "Atlantis" landscape
- Permit: Inside the Freus d'Eivissa i Formentera marine reserve (13,617 ha). Recreational diving in the Balearic marine reserves needs an authorisation from the Govern de les Illes Balears; dive centres on the Balearic register hold it and arrange it for guided dives, individual divers need a valid certification. Sources conflict: the Formentera tourism page says scuba diving is strictly forbidden throughout the reserve, while the Govern's authorisation page and the Consell's dive catalogue list Es Freus sites as authorisable – dive with a local centre and confirm current rules.
- Issuer / contact: Govern de les Illes Balears – Direcció General de Pesca i Medi Marí, Servei de Recursos Marins (marine reserves)
- Phone: +34 971 17 61 14
- Website: https://www.caib.es/sites/reservesmarines/es/
- Tips: Catalogue rating: experienced (two stars). The catalogue map shows it beside the fully protected zone, so stay on the centre's route; authorisation via the centre.