The Blockship Tabarka is scuba diving in history on one of WWII's most remarkable wreck sites.
| Name Dive Site: | Blockship Tabarka |
| Depth: | 0-52ft (0-16m) |
| Accessibility: | Boat |
| Inserted/Added by: | lars, © Author: Lars Hemel |
| Rated: | Rated 5.0, 1 votes |
| Specifications: |    |
| GPS: | N58°55.6333', W3°18.8' |
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One of the most popular shipwrecks in Scapa Flow is the 20m long WWII Blockship Tabarka located at Skapa Flow, Orkney Islands at a maximum depth of 16 meters. This upside down steamship was originally built in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Pollux in 1909 and captured by the Royal English Navy at Falmouth in 1940. She was one of the last blockships to be intentionally sunk, initially in Kirk Sound but re-floated in 1944 to be sunk again near Burra Sound about 200m away from the Inverlane. Nowadays situated west of the Island of Hoy and Greamsay, inside an area of many rocks known as Hoy Skerries. It is one of the few wrecks that survived the 1962 explosives and is still in very good shape.
It is popular because of its shallow depth making it excellent for recreational scuba diving. Pay attention to the often strong currents that make the wreck silt free but also prevents you from ascending by use of a line. Slack tide is therefore the best period to dive this wreck as currents are minimal then. The only way to enter the wreck is by the blast holes in its bow that initially sunk her to prevent a wide scale German submarine attack. You can explore the boiler room with three huge boilers and the quarry where they loaded lots of boulders to make this ship sink faster. The ceilings are well decorated with plenty of light coming through its portholes, magnifying its beauty. The wreck is decorated in anemones, sponges, urchins and marine life including wrasses, jellies, pipefish, crabs and lobsters. There is some great kelp forests to be explored nearby and those with luck might have a close encounter with a seal.
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