The MV Elpida wreck (which means ‘hope’ in Greek) is the latest addition to the must-see wreck diving spots located within Larnaka bay. It was purposely sunk in December 2019 to serve as an artificial reef and as a captivating diving spot. Elpida is a 63 metre-long cargo vessel from Greece which was modified for diving activities at a depth of 28 metres. As such, the cargo containers and all decks are fully accessible to divers. The main deck starts at 20 metres while the masts start at a depth of 10 metres. In addition, divers can access the large container area of the ship, the engine room, the bridge where the captain used to navigate the ship, as well as several decks for confined diving and wreck penetration.

Marine life on the deck of Elpida wreck is already starting to develop since its deployment in 2019. One of the first colonisers is the red sea squirt - an alien species from the Red Sea. In addition, at the bottom of the wreck the diver can encounter octopuses. However, since Elpida is deployed within a Marine Protected Area (MPA), the diversity is constantly increasing with the presence of the invasive lionfish, damselfish, grey triggerfish, Mediterranean parrotfish, sea breams and wrasses. Furthermore, dusky groupers, greater amberjacks and bluespotted cornetfish can also be found. Invertebrates such as nudibranchs ad molluscs have also started to colonize the Elpida wreck.

Area: Larnaka bay

Access: Boat 

Distance from shore: 2 km 

Coordinates:  34°57’06.3″N, 33°41’05.6″E 

Dive type:  Wreck

Diving level: Advance Open Water

Visibility: 30m

Water temperature: 15-28 °C 

Maximum depth: 28m

Currents: Low 

Difficulty level: Medium

Species list of most common marine life encountered at Elpida wreck:

Squirrefish / Sargocentron rubrum

Mediterranean rainbow wrasse / Coris julis

Ornate wrasse / Thalassoma pavo

Damselfish / Chromis chromis

Blue-spotted cornetfish / Fistularia commersonii

Grey triggerfish / Balistes capriscus

Yellowspotted pufferfish / Torquigener flavimaculosus

Mediterranean parrot-fish / Sparisoma cretense

Red Sea goatfish / Parupeneus forsskali

Dusky spinefoot / Siganus luridus

Dusky grouper / Epinephelus marginatus

Cardinalfish / Apogon imberbis

Red scorpionfish / Scorpaena scrofa

Saddled seabream / Oblada melanura

Painted comberfish / Serranus scriba

Moray eel / Muraena helena

Lionfish / Pterois miles

Red Sea squirt / Halocynthia papilosa

Common octopus / Octopus vulgaris

Greater amberjack / Seriola dumerili

Pearl oyster / Pinctada imbricata radiata

Long-spined urchin / Diadema setosum

Thorny oyster / Spondylus gaederopus

Average Sea Surface Temperature (°C) per month