Friday, 13 February 1981. The superstitious among us will consider it as an unlucky day, and it certainly proved to be an unlucky day for the Maldivians who lost priced cargo that day when the 83-meter-long cargo-ship hit the reef, sunk and came to rest on the ocean floor, southwest of airport island Hulhule’ in North Male' Atoll. The nutrient rich channel-currents have since transformed the shipwreck’s metal framework into a thriving coral reef, making for challenging yet rewarding dives for advanced divers, as seen in the feature article on Discover Maldives 2015 Issue shared below, photographed and written by Amoo.
So Many Names
Built in Liverpool, United Kingdom, the cargo vessel was launched in February 1958 under the name Malatian. Maldives Shipping Ltd, Male bought the vessel in 1971 and renamed it Maldive Victory. Ten years later, in 1981, the ship sank in 04.10.42N - 73.32.12E on passage from Singapore for Male, from there on to be known as MV Victory Wreck
1958 - 1971: Malatian
1971 - 1981: Maldive Victory
1981 onwards: MV Victory Wreck, Maldive Victory Wreck, Victory Wreck
(Source: www. clydeships.co.uk)
Below: (1) MALATIAN at Liverpool; Photo: Maurice Napier. (2) Maldive Victory; Photo: Unknown. (3) MV Victory Wreck; Photo: Mohamed Seeneen
Maldives' Maritime Relic
MV Victory Wreck will mark it's 40th anniversary next year in 2021. For four decades divers have sought thrill, excitement and adventure from diving the wreck, but it has had it's share of challenges: Lack of any sort of protection measures meant that people did not realize the value of the wreck and those who had access to the wreck stripped off it's value by taking away parts that would have made the wreck priceless today and in the days to come, similar to any other historical relic.
As Dive Desk is the closest Dive Centre to Maldive Victory Wreck, Adam Ashraf has taken the responsibility, along with fellow divers, to play a key role in calling for its protection and lobbying to the government to give the shipwreck historical significance, in order to have it conserved for future generations to come: Towards Conserving Maldive Victory Wreck.
#MaldiveVictory #MaldivesVictory #VictoryWreck #MVVictory #MVVictoryWreck #MaldiveVictoryWreck #WreckDiving #VisitMaldives #MaritimeHistory #Conservation #DiveSites #Maldives #ScubaDiving