P29 is one of those wrecks that looks exactly like a wreck should look when it appears through the blue: upright, recognisable, with a proper bow, bridge and mast profile. It also has a history that started long before Malta.
Site at a glance
Before P29
The vessel was built in East Germany around 1969–70 as Boltenhagen, a Kondor I-class minesweeper. After German reunification she served with the German Federal Coast Guard before being sold to Malta in the late 1990s and entering Armed Forces of Malta service as P29.
After decommissioning she was cleaned and prepared as an artificial reef. She was scuttled at Ċirkewwa in August 2007, where she now rests upright on sand with the deepest parts around the mid-thirties.
Getting to the wreck
Ċirkewwa is one of Malta's most developed shore-diving areas, with dedicated diver parking and several established entries. From the normal entry, P29 is offshore and requires a purposeful swim. Depending on the exact route, underwater landmarks such as old anchors and the edge of the reef can help, but a compass bearing and local briefing are still the sensible foundation.
A surface or underwater swim that feels trivial at the start can feel very different at the end of a deep wreck dive, so I include it in gas and workload planning.
The dive
The superstructure is the obvious focal point, but I like to take a moment away from the metal and look back at the entire ship. Good visibility can make the whole wreck appear at once, and that view gives a much better sense of scale than staying permanently close to the hull.
The bow is photogenic, the bridge and mast give vertical structure, and the sand around the wreck often creates a strong contrast with the darker steel. Penetration is possible in prepared areas, but an open door does not turn an overhead environment into a recreational swim-through.
Make Ċirkewwa work for you
P29 can be the entire purpose of the dive, or it can be part of a larger Ċirkewwa day with Rozi, the Arch and the reefs. The mistake is trying to combine everything because it is nearby. Depth, gas and no-decompression time usually make a focused dive more enjoyable.
On a DPV, the relationship between the wrecks and reef becomes much more obvious. Without one, the swimming distance is part of the site and should be treated as such.
Watch my P29 and Rozi DPV dive
This is one of my own YouBusaBoy videos from the site.
Where it is
GPS reference: 35.98850, 14.32610. Coordinates identify the site area; they do not replace underwater navigation, a current local briefing or an assessment of access on the day.