TEVFIK KAPTAN 1

DIVING ON THE WRECK OF TORRE VADO  

The TEVFIK KAPTAN 1 was a turkish merchant ship transporting steelwire reels. It sank about three years ago because its cargo slipped on a side due to bad weather conditions.

Fortunately the sunk did not cause any victim among the six members of the crew as the ship took two days to reach the sea bottom right off the coast of Torre Vado (LE).

It now lies in sailing trim at the depth of 22/24mt. on low-rocky bottom with small sandy patches.

The wreck is 600mt off the coast and it takes about twenty minutes by fins to reach it from the shore.

 The very accessible depth led, right after the sunk, the local authorities to cut away the masts as they came out of the water and represented a danger for navigation and to empty out the tanks in order to safeguard the marine environment.

Once you get on the wreck you can see from the surface, in any visibility condition, at least the top of the cargo crane and the upper structures of the bridge.

Due to the location and the features of the sea bottom, is it strongly reccomended that you do not dive when the Sirocco wind blows as in presence of this condition the visibility get worse and swimming back to the shore can turn into a very difficult and tiring trip.

The freedivers who are used to dive along the coast of Bari do face very ofter a lower visibility than the one you can find in the worst scenario in Torre Vado. However it is a good idea to take a look at the weather forecast before planning a dive, as a wreck is far more dangerous than the simple sea bottom.

The roof of the helm cabin is at about 7/8mt and by going down a couple of metres more you can enter into it (all doors and portholes have been removed for safety reasons) and grab the steering wheel.

At about three metres from the helm there is a staircase leading to the lower deck where you can find, at the depth of 15mt., the cabins the crew used to have their meals and relax.

By getting out of these cabins you will find yourself in an evocative long roofed corridor leading to the holds (17metri). If you swim out of the wrek alongside the tack you will reach the cargo crane and at its bottom you can visit other cabins. Two things you cannot miss of this wreck: the bow (that still has an anchor on) and the propellers at the depth of 22/24mt.

The whole structure is covered by oysters and it is crowded by a lot of barracuda and white breams that are very familiar with human presence and for this reason they get really close to divers. If you are lucky you can meet groupers of average dimensions.

Play the video below to see the trailer of the DVD with all the shootings taken freediving on the wreck in june and july 2009.