Dive Data & Advisory:

Max depth: -34 msw
Min. Certification: Advanced Sports Diver
Mix: NITROX recommended *
Type: Wreck & Anchor Diving
Difficulty ratting (1-5): 2
Possible hazzards: none

Historical Review:

XIX Ship: "Tiber" (*) - AKA "Navio do Norte"

Sunk on the 21st of February 1847.

This large iron paddle steamer, has a controversial history regarding it´s origin, route, cargo and the causes that made it rest on the bottom of the Ocean.

However, from a true fact source if you follow the * (on the bottom of this page) it seems that the description of the vessel matches the Tiber, although the name of the place where the accident occur has either a mismatch, wrong spelling or...wrong ship.

 

Some documents say that it might be a P&O ship with 56.29m long, 8.15m broad by 5.26m deep.

For some years it was possible to see it´s structure hardly intact until recently; Bottom trawlers (accordingly to fishermen sayings) got entangled on this wreck and ended up dispersing it´s parts trough the sandy bottom where it rests.

Taking a look on the bright side of events, this makes this dive fairly easier in spite of the -34 msw depth that restricts novices as Open Water Divers and it´s highly recommended for NITROX * since it´s set on a plain bottom and the the vastness of shredded parts requires some time to have a nice all around view.

It´s cannons are there, as well as parts of it´s machinery and wheels; several parts including wood are over a great area.

Nowadays the usual fisheries on this spot are mostly directed towards seafood, therefore, it´s fairly rare to find ghost nets around it.

On the other hand, you can see large traps around it since it´s known for it´s abundance in blue lobsters, conger eels and octopus.

Around during this season, who knows if we get a chance to taste the local gastronomy?

Reminders for Wreck Lovers:

Don´t forget your knive and/or cable cutter and you will be fine.

Carry an extra flash-light/Strobe

Reel

SMB

 Apparently it roamed to the UK from Gibraltar with a cargo of gold coins and mail. Until nowadays there are no records what so ever of any finding towards these stories.

On the other hand, it´s known that some have extracted parts of this wreck as metal wheels, small but heavy. From where do these parts fit in the whole puzzle still remains a mystery.

Other findings there, can make us wonder about their function or application on a vessel. Which?

Go there and see for yourself:)

You´ll see that it´s a nice quiz even for specialists, otherwise there would be some published data available, now woudn´t it?

Note: If there´s some relevant study done but unpublished, please do send a copy using the contact info on this website. Aknowledgements will be given to the source.

It´s characteristic image is a huge wheel found on the bottom that makes a clear positive ID on the days
of low visibility where the scattered parts of the ship may not be so easy to find.


Note:Most of the images here are video stills from recordings with dim light for this depth, therefore the lack of quality in the images; even so their enough to illustrate what you can find there.


 

Top 2 Bottom:
Large wheel (aprox. 2m diameter)
Cannon, Ballast balls? Nope..their ceramic & hollow.
Large fishing trap for crustaceans Cannon
Spreaded wreck parts Bottom Left:Large machinery wheels


*Quote:
TIBER 1846
"was a 764 gross ton, iron hulled paddle steamer, length 183.8ft x beam 26.7ft x depth 17..2ft, clipper bows, one funnel, three masts. Built 1846 by Caird &

Co., Greenock for Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co (P&O Line) she was employed on the U.K. - Spain, Portugal, Italy and Black Sea passenger and

cargo services. On 21st Feb.1847 she struck a rock off Vila de Cupa near Oporto in dense fog and sank in deep water within minutes while on voyage Gibraltar

to Southampton. No loss of life but the cargo and mails were lost."
source:theshipslist.com