P29 Patrol Boat
 A Kondor Class I minesweeper similar to P29 | |
| Career (East Germany) | .svg.png){kind=small} |
|---|---|
| Name: | Boltenhagen |
| Builder: | Peenewerft shipyard |
| Commissioned: | 1970 |
| Fate: | Sold to Malta, 1992. |
| Career (Malta) |  |
| Commissioned: | Purchased, 1992. |
| Decommissioned: | 2004 |
| Fate: | Scuttled as artificial dive site, 14 August 2007 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Kondor I |
| Displacement: | 361 tons |
| Length: | 51.98 metres (170 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.12 metres (23.4 ft) |
| Draft: | 2.3 metres (7.6 ft) |
| Propulsion: | MD 40 diesel engines |
| Speed: | 20 knots |
| Complement: | 20 |
| Armament: | 1 quad 14.5 mm |
Patrol boat P29 was a Kondor I Class former Minesweeper and Patrol Boat that was scuttled as a dive site in 2007 off Ċirkewwa, Malta. It was built by Peenewerft shipyard to patrol the river banks between the East and West Germany and then was also used as a minesweeper for the East German Navy under the name Boltenhagen.
It was purchased by Malta in 1992 along with its sister ships P30 (formerly Ueckermuende) and P31 (formerly Pasewalk), and was used to secure the Maltese coast against smuggling and border control operations. It was sunk as an attraction for divers on 14 August 2007 to serve as a diving site. The P29 is 51 metres long and lies at a depth of around 35 metres but the entire dive may be done at 25 meters.
The highest point of the wreck is situated only 12 metres deep from the surface. Since this wreck was quite recently sunk compare to the MV Rozi and other wreck sites in Malta, it requires some more time to attract a good amount of marine life inside and around it.[1]
Dennis O’Hare, an experienced Scottish diver, died while diving on this wreck in November 2010.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ "Patrol Boat P29". Cresta Diving Centre. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
- ↑ "Experienced diver dies while doing underwater photography". Nikki Abela Mercieca. 2010-11-12. Retrieved 2012-09-04.