Sun Swale.
The Sun Swale is a 28 m tug sunk on purpose on 16 March 2015 as part of Gibraltar's artificial reef project. She lies intact on her side on sand at 22 m, just off the rocky reef that runs out from the South Mole and close to the Seven Sisters. It is a boat dive for advanced divers, with a swim-through at the bridge and penetration for trained wreck divers.
What's down there.
- Intact hull lying on her side, heavily to starboard
- Swim-through at the bridge
- Engine room, for divers with penetration training
- Rocky reef running out from the South Mole beside the wreck
- Spider crabs (a cluster inside the bow)
- Scorpionfish
- Damselfish around the bridge
- Octopus
- Cuttlefish
- Conger and moray eels
- Nudibranchs
- Common lobster
Sandy seabed at 22 m; the tug lies on her side and no source gives the depth of her highest point.
Boat dive only (Dive Charters). Seabed at 22 m; Dive Charters recommends Advanced Open Water certification or above because of the depth. Divernet's writer, diving her in 2024, found coral and marine growth still sparse compared with older wrecks and says divers often reach her in excellent visibility. Dive Charters warns of unpredictable currents around the nearby MFV Helen, which also lies beside the South Mole.
How it got there.
Tug of about 195 tons, built in 1966 (Dive Charters; Divernet); 28 m long, 6 m wide and 10 m high (Dive Charters). She was deliberately sunk on 16 March 2015 as an artificial reef (Underwater Gibraltar; Divernet). Divernet described her in 2025 as Gibraltar's newest shipwreck. Her builder and earlier service are not recorded in the sources found.
64 dives.
From the log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.