Merkanti Reef

Artificial reef at St. Julian's, Malta

Merkanti Reef, also known as Mercanti Reef, is a reef off the shore of St. Julian's, Malta. It is located between the shores of Dragonara Palace and the Hilton Resort in St Julian's.^[1]

History

In the waters, huge concrete blocks were laid at the bottom of the sea to block sea waves. With this aid, over time, an artificial reef was formed, hosting a significant variety of marine biodiversity.^[2]

The reef leads to a sandy seabed between 15 and 20 metres off the shore. Water sports activity take place frequently, especially jet skies during the summer months and therefore divers are advised to use marker buoys.^[3]^[4]

On 29 July 1955, the passenger ferry MV Star of Malta ran aground on the reef and capsized, resulting in the deaths of one crew member and one passenger.^[5]

In 2005, a study by the Adi Associates revealed that the Merkanti Reef was the 26th most visited diving site in Malta. The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) lists the reef under 'Protection of the Coast and the Marine Conservation Area' designated at level 3 area of ecological importance.^[2]

References

^ Merkanti Reef MaltaDives.com
^ ^a ^b "Diving Master Plan for Malta : Dive Site Report 18: Merkanti Reef : Paceville Version 1". Mta.com.mt. December 2010. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
^ "Dragonara Point". malta.greatestdivesites.com. Retrieved 2015-08-23.
^ "Sliema - Merkanti Reef". Malta Startpages. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
^ Buchanan, John (10 February 2009). "A brief history of the Star of Malta". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020.

35°55′29″N 14°29′50″E / 35.92472°N 14.49722°E / 35.92472; 14.49722

Recreational dive sites

Reef diving regions
Akumal Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area Aliwal Shoal Amed (Bali) Anilao Apo Island Apo Reef Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park Bay of Pigs Belize Barrier Reef Biscayne National Park Bohol Sea Bowie Seamount Bunaken Bunaken National Park Cahuita National Park Calve Island Capurganá Ċirkewwa Cliff Villa Peninsula Cozumel Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park Edmonds Underwater Park El Ikhwa Islands False Bay Għar Qawqla Gili Islands Great Barrier Reef Great Southern Reef Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve Haql Hol Chan Marine Reserve iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area Sodwana Bay John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Kadmat Island Ko Tao Lighthouse Reef Mantanani Islands Malapascua Martin's Haven Marsa Alam Molasses Reef Molokini Neptune Islands Osprey Reef Palancar Reef Panglao, Bohol Pescador Island Petit Saint Vincent Poor Knights Islands Porteau Cove Provincial Park Puerto Galera Punta Cana Ras Muhammad National Park Rondo Island Rottnest Island San Andrés (island) San Pedro Nolasco Island Shaʽb Abu Nuħas Shadwan Island Similan Islands Sipadan Socorro Island Sound of Mull St. Crispin's Reef Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area Taganga Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area Tubbataha Reef Utila Wakatobi Regency Weh Island

Reef diving regions

Akumal
Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area
- Aliwal Shoal
Amed (Bali)
Anilao
Apo Island
Apo Reef
Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
Bay of Pigs
Belize Barrier Reef
Biscayne National Park
Bohol Sea
Bowie Seamount
Bunaken
- Bunaken National Park
Cahuita National Park
Calve Island
Capurganá
Ċirkewwa
Cliff Villa Peninsula
Cozumel
Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park
Edmonds Underwater Park
El Ikhwa Islands
False Bay
Għar Qawqla
Gili Islands
Great Barrier Reef
Great Southern Reef
Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve
Haql
Hol Chan Marine Reserve
iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area
- Sodwana Bay
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Kadmat Island
Ko Tao
Lighthouse Reef
Mantanani Islands
Malapascua
Martin's Haven
Marsa Alam
Molasses Reef
Molokini
Neptune Islands
Osprey Reef
Palancar Reef
Panglao, Bohol
Pescador Island
Petit Saint Vincent
Poor Knights Islands
Porteau Cove Provincial Park
Puerto Galera
Punta Cana
Ras Muhammad National Park
Rondo Island
Rottnest Island
San Andrés (island)
San Pedro Nolasco Island
Shaʽb Abu Nuħas
Shadwan Island
Similan Islands
Sipadan
Socorro Island
Sound of Mull
St. Crispin's Reef
Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area
Taganga
Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area
Tubbataha Reef
Utila
Wakatobi Regency
Weh Island

Reef dive sites

Artificial reefs	Edithburgh jetty Gibraltar Artificial Reef Merkanti Reef Port Hughes jetty Port Noarlunga jetty Rapid Bay jetty Shark River Reef South Channel Fort Osborne Reef
Underwater artworks	Cancún Underwater Museum Christ of the Abyss Circle of Heroes Kristu tal-Baħħara Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park
Snorkelling sites	Fungus Rock

Wreck diving regions
Bullhead Point Historical and Archeological District Calve Island Chuuk Lagoon Coron Bay Edmonds Underwater Park Shipwrecks of Isle Royale Loch Long Maritime Heritage Trail – Battle of Saipan Michigan Underwater Preserves Pearl and Hermes Atoll Porteau Cove Provincial Park Robben Island Marine Protected Area Scapa Flow Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area Tulagi Tulamben Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary List of shipwrecks in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Ve Skerries Wardang Island Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve Wreck Alley, San Diego

Wreck diving regions

Wreck dive sites

115 (barge)

A	HMS A1 HMS A3 USS Aaron Ward Abessinia USS Accokeek HMAS Adelaide SS Admiral Sampson MV Adolphus Busch Aeolian Sky USS Aeolus Agat World War II Amtrac SS Ajax Albert C. Field USS Algol SS Algoma Al Munassir Amaryllis SS America USS Anderson Andrea Doria Antilla Antilles USS Apogon SS Appomattox Aquila Aratama Maru Arctic USS Arkansas SS Arratoon Apcar USS Arthur W. Radford SS Atlanta USS Atlanta (CL-51) SS Australasia
B	HMAS Bayonet SS Ben Doran SS Benwood Bianca C. USCGC Bibb SS Binnendijk USS Blenny HMS Boadicea Booya HMSAS Bloemfontein Breda Brian Davis HMAS Brisbane HMHS Britannic Bud Bar Bungsberg Byron
C	HMAS Canberra HMCS Cape Breton USCGC Cape Henlopen Captain Keith Tibbetts Carl D. Bradley USS Carlisle Carnatic Carthaginian II SS Cayuga SS Cedarville Christina Nilsson City of Bangor SS City of Everett SS City of Launceston HMCS Chaudière ROCS Chen Hai Chester A. Congdon SS Clan Ranald SS Clifton USCGC Comanche SS Comet Constandis HMAS Coogee Cormoran Cornelia B. Windiate HMS Coronation Crusader PS Cumberland USS Curb USCGC Cuyahoga
D	MV Dania Daniel Lyons David Tucker SMS Dresden SS D.R. Hanna USCGC Duane Dunraven SS Dwight L. Moody
E	Eagle Eastfield SS Eber Ward SS Edgar E. Clark HMT Elk Ellengowan USS Emmons SS Emperor RMS Empress of Ireland SS Erie L. Hackley SS Espagne SS Etruria
F	HMS Falmouth Fifi Fleetwing SS Francisco Morazan SS Francis Hinton SS Frank O'Connor F.T. Barney Fujikawa Maru Fumizuki
G	Gallinipper SATS General Botha USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg George A. Marsh SS George Dewey George M. Cox Georg Thiele HMS Ghurka USS Gilliam SS Glenlyon Glen Strathallan SAS Good Hope HMAS Goorangai Gothenburg Grace A. Channon SS Grecian Green Bay MV Gregory Poole Gunilda
H	MT Haven SS Henry Chisholm MT Hephaestus Hermann Künne HMS Hermes Herzogin Cecilie SS Hesper Hilma Hooker Hispania Home HMS Hood HMAS Hobart
I	Igara USS Indra SS Ironsides SS Isaac M. Scott Island City
J	HMAS J1 HMAS J2 HMAS J4 HMAS J5 James Eagan Layne J.S. Seaverns SS John B. Cowle John M. Osborn SS John Mitchell Jura
K	SS Kamloops Kashi Maru PS Keystone State King Cruiser USS Kittiwake Kizugawa Maru SMS Kronprinz Kyarra Kyle Spangler
L	PS Lady Elgin Lady Thetis HMS Laforey SS Lakeland USS Lamson USAT Liberty SS Louisiana Louis Sheid SS L.R. Doty USS LST-507 Lumberman
M	HMS M2 HMCS Mackenzie Madeira SMS Markgraf SS Marquette Mayflower (scow) Mikhail Lermontov Maine Maloja HMS Maori SS Maori SS Margaret Olwill Marguerite SS Mauna Loa USAT Meigs Mendi MV Mercedes I USCGC Mesquite Metamora SS Midland City USS Mindanao Minnedosa SS Miowera SS Milwaukee USS Mizpah Miztec USCGC Mohawk Mohegan RMS Moldavia SS Monarch SS Monrovia HMS Montagu SS M.M. Drake MV RMS Mulheim USS Muliphen SS Myron
N	Nagato Niagara Niagara (tug) HMCS Nipigon SS Norman Northerner
O	Oceana SS Onoko USS Oriskany Oslofjord Ozone
P	P29 P31 SS Panay SS Papoose Pedernales Persier HMAS Perth SS Pewabic SAS Pietermaritzburg USS Pilotfish Piłsudski SS Pioneer USCGC Point Swift Pool Fisher SS Port Kembla HMS Port Napier Preußen President Coolidge HMS Prince of Wales
Q	PS Queen Victoria
R	SS R.P. Resor Radaas USS Rankin Rainbow Warrior SS Regina HMS Repulse RMS Rhone Riva Palacio Robert C. Pringle SS Robert Wallace USS Rochester Rondo Rosehill Rosinco Rotorua Rouse Simmons Royal Adelaide Royal Charter Rozi SS Russia
S	HMS Safari Sagamore HMCS Saguenay Sakawa Salem Express SS Samuel Mather Samuel P. Ely Sanko Harvest USS Saratoga HMCS Saskatchewan SS S.C. Baldwin USS Schurz USS Scuffle USS Scrimmage HMS Scylla SS Selah Chamberlain HMS Sidon USCGC Spar South Australian USS Spiegel Grove Sport Stanegarth Stanwood Stella SS Stepas Darius HMS St Lawrence SS Superior City HMAS Swan Sweepstakes
T	SS Tahoe USCGC Tamaroa USS Tarpon Thesis Thistlegorm Thomas Friant Thomas Wilson Thunderbolt Wreck Toa Maru HMAS Tobruk Tokai Maru Torrey Canyon SAS Transvaal MV Treasure HMNZS Tui
U	U-40 U-352 U-1195 Um El Faroud
V	Varvassi USS Vermilion SS Vernon SS Vienna
W	HMNZS Waikato Walter L M Russ Washingtonian (1913) PS Waubuno HMNZS Wellington SS Wexford SS William C. Moreland SS Wisconsin USS Wilkes-Barre
Y	USS Yancey YO-257 Yongala HMCS Yukon
Z	Zenobia Zealandia Zingara

Cave dive sites
Cave diving regions of the world Cave dive sites: Blauhöhle Blue hole Blue Hole (Red Sea) Great Blue Hole Blue Hole (Guam) Boesmansgat Cenote Dzibilchaltun Chinhoyi Caves Cocklebiddy, Western Australia Devil's Throat at Punta Sur Engelbrecht Cave Fossil Cave Hranice Abyss Jordbrugrotta Kilsby sinkhole Molnár János Cave Nereo Cave Piccaninnie Ponds Pluragrotta Pollatoomary Ricks Spring The Shaft Sistema Dos Ojos Sistema Huautla Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich Sistema Ox Bel Ha Sistema Sac Actun Uamh an Claonaite Vortex Spring Wakulla Springs Wondergat Zacatón

Cave dive sites

Cave diving regions of the world

Cave dive sites:

Blauhöhle
Blue hole
- Blue Hole (Red Sea)
- Great Blue Hole
- Blue Hole (Guam)
Boesmansgat
Cenote
- Dzibilchaltun
Chinhoyi Caves
Cocklebiddy, Western Australia
Devil's Throat at Punta Sur
Engelbrecht Cave
Fossil Cave
Hranice Abyss
Jordbrugrotta
Kilsby sinkhole
Molnár János Cave
Nereo Cave
Piccaninnie Ponds
Pluragrotta
Pollatoomary
Ricks Spring
The Shaft
Sistema Dos Ojos
Sistema Huautla
Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich
Sistema Ox Bel Ha
Sistema Sac Actun
Uamh an Claonaite
Vortex Spring
Wakulla Springs
Wondergat
Zacatón

Freshwater dive sites
Blue Hole (New Mexico) Blue Lake (Utah) Dinorwic quarry Dorothea quarry Dutch Springs Ewens Ponds Homestead caldera Little Blue Lake Logue Brook Dam Ponce de Leon Spring Rum Jungle Silfra Vortex Spring Wast Water Wazee Lake

Training sites
Blue Abyss Capernwray Dive Centre Deep Dive Dubai Deepspot Eccleston Quarry Hotel Terme Millepini National Diving and Activity Centre Nemo 33 Seacrest Cove 2 Slickstones Quarry, Cromhall Stoney Cove Swanage Pier

Related topics
Black-water diving Blue-water diving Low impact diving Recreational diving Scuba diving Scuba diving tourism Underwater archaeology Underwater diving Wall diving