Imperial Eagle Statue Of Christ – 40m
When first launched in 1938 until 1947 she was named “New Royal Lady”, then in 1948 as “Royal Lady” and thereafter until 1958 as “Crested Eagle” Built by J. Crown & Sons Ltd, in Sunderland England and powered by two oil engines manufactured by Crossley Bros Ltd. Imperial Eagle made its maiden voyage between Malta & Gozo on 1/6/1958, At 45 metres long it had accommodation for 70 passengers and room for 10 cars. It remained on the Mgarr to Marfa route until March 1968. After 1968 she was used to transport cargo and animals from Gozo to Valletta. She also served for storage. In Malta she was owned by Sunny & Maria Pisani a family from Gozo, and was sold to the local Diving community on 28/11/1995 to scuttle her as an attraction for divers. The Imperial Eagle was scuttled 500 metres off Qawra Point on 19/7/1999.
More Information for Imperial Eagle
This wreck, situated off the East Coast of Malta, is an ideal dive for the more experienced diver.
A short boat ride and you enter the water from the boat over the wreck. Descent is down line placed beside the wreck. From a depth of 20 metres the statue of Christ becomes clear which was blessed by Pope John Paul in 1990 and placed on the seabed to protect the fishermen of Malta. After a look around the statue the nearby wreck is at hand to continue the dive. With the staggered depth and statue there is plenty of time to explore this former Maltese ferry before returning to the surface for your boat ride back to shore.