Maldive Victory Wreck, often shortened to MV Victory Wreck, is a dive-site located southwest of Male' International Airport. It is the most famous site for wreck-diving in Maldives, and as Dive Desk is the closest Dive Centre to Maldive Victory Wreck, I have taken the responsibility, along with fellow divers, to play a key role in calling for its protection and lobbying to the government to give the shipwreck historical significance to have it conserved for future generations to come.  

The Demise 

The 83 meter-long cargo vessel named Maldive Victory was travelling to Male' carrying a full load of cargo from Singapore when the ship hit the house-reef of Hulhule' island where the Male' International Airport is located, on 13 February 1981. The hit seriously compromised the hull, and the ship sank and came to rest upright and slightly titled on the ocean floor, southwest of airport island.

Rebirth

The nutrient-rich channel currents have transformed the shipwreck’s metal framework into a thriving coral reef, making it the most famous and most dived wreck in Maldives. 

A Major Risk: Bridge Construction

When the Male'-Hulhule' bridge construction commenced in 2016, I played a key role in bringing to the attention of the Government of Maldives the significance of the Maldive Victory Wreck and the need to protect it, given that the dive site lay about a 100m from the construction site. It was a cause for which the whole dive community stood up with me. Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure was very supportive, took our concerns into considerations and facilitated the implementation of protection measures that we recommended. The major concern was structural damage that might be inflicted from heavy construction vehicles, possibly from anchoring or dropping heavy objects on to the vessel. As a protective measure, the ministry agreed to install surface buoys around the dive site to mark the area that vessels were to avoid while operating vessels around the dive site. The site was closed off for the public but periodic dives were authorized for Divers Association of Maldives to monitor the state of the dive site. 

Monitoring 

Despite the protective measures undertaken, the first monitoring dive, conducted on 15 October 2016, revealed major structural damages to the wreck. Two wings of the wreck’s wheelhouse were completely destroyed and large sections of the three decks below the wheelhouse were damaged, including the captain’s cabin, caused most likely from anchoring.

Action Taken

In November 2016, Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure facilitated a sensitization session to all boat captains of the CCCC construction company in Chinese language, in an effort to prevent any further structural damage to the wreck.

Two more monitoring dives were conducted during the time that the Maldive Victory Wreck was closed off for divers. Although no additional structural damages were observed, mud plummeting on the sunken ship had affected marine life on the wreck as sedimentation settled on corals and suffocated them.

Reopening

After a period of three years, on 21 February 2019, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development issued permission for divers to dive at MV Victory Wreck. Despite our best efforts to protect the wreck, more structural damages were observed, albeit on a smaller scale. Most of the damage was due to sedimentation, which are sand and other particles suspended in the water column that when settled on coral life tends to suffocate them. Recovery from sedimentation is expected to be fast as the wreck lies in an area subject to strong currents.

Act Now

MV Victory Wreck is one of the biggest and most beautiful wrecks in Maldives. It is an iconic wreck featured on almost all major magazines around the world. It is a national heritage and a blessing entrusted to us that we ought to be proud of as Maldivians. With fellow divers, I continue to lobby with the Government to have the wreck recognized as a part of our maritime heritage, and to put in measures to conserve and protect it.