In the face of growing competition during the 1980s from other diving destinations, the Maltese Government in conjunction with local dive centres initiated the Artificial Reef Programme where un-seaworthy boats and ships were environmentally cleaned and sunk in popular dive locations at sensible diving depths. These ranged from the tugboat Rozi to the tanker Um el Faroud and ferries Imperial Eagle (off Malta) and Xlendi (off Gozo). A spectacular variety of marine life has flourished over these new wrecks, offering divers much to explore and photograph. The Maltese Islands have quickly asserted themselves as a prime wreck-dive destination.

With the advent of new technology in wreck detection and the knowledge that many ship and aircraft wrecks from the 1914-1918 and 1940-1945 World Wars lay undiscovered in coastal waters, dive schools have been able to offer a much wider range of exciting dive locations. Click here to read more about discovered wrecks of note.