Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/MV Afrikaner

The dive site MV Afrikaner is an offshore recent wreck, in the Table Bay area, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand
There is a fair amount to see on the wreck, but it is somewhat broken up.

Position

 * S33°50.012' E018°20.686'

Southwest of Robben Island at the inshore edge of the northbound shipping lane.

This site is in the Robben Island Marine Protected Area (2019). A permit is required.

Name
The name "MV Afrikaner" is the name of the fishing vessel wreck which is the dive site.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 50 m. The top of the hull is about 43 m. (Average depth of a dive is likely to be about 47 m.)

Visibility
Visibility is unpredictable. The site has not been dived often. It is likely to be similar to other sites in the area of similar depth. Surface visibility is not a reliable indicator of visibility at depth, and a heavy layer of plankton bloom may overlay a dark but relatively clear deeper layer. Or maybe not.

Topography
The dive site is a fairly recent wreck of a fishing vessel which ran aground off Robben Island and sank while being towed away. The vessel lies on its side and the hull is fractured in at least two places.

Geology: Low profile sedimentary rock of the Pre-Cambrian Tygerberg formation. There may be sand in places

Conditions
The site is exposed to all winds and swells with a westerly component, so should be dived in calm or light offshore winds and low swell, and may be good after a south-easter. South-easterly winds may be strong on the south peninsula but light over Table Bay.

The site is likely to be at it's best in summer but there are may be opportunities at other times of the year. This is an area which sometimes has upwellings caused by south-easterly winds, but it is not as strongly affected as some other parts of the Cape Peninsula. Sunny days in summer will generally cause plankton bloom to close down surface visibility, but under the bloom it may be relatively clean but can be very dark.

Get in
Boat access only. The site is about 9.9 km from the Oceana Power Boat Club slipway at Granger Bay, or 11.7 km from the Victoria Basin of Cape Town Harbour.

Features
Substantial wreckage of a relatively recent wreck.

Photography
It will probably be dark so artificial lighting is likely to be necessary, and most likely to work best at close range with wide angle to fisheye lens. A powerful video light will help with viewing the wreck as well as illumination for video or stills.

Suggested routes
The wreck is hardly explored. Let us know what you find.

Hazards
Beyond the normal depth range for recreational divers, and on the edge of the shipping lane for a major harbour.

Skills
Competence in diving with Helium based breathing gas is recommended to reduce nitrogen narcosis, and the ability to manage staged decompression with multiple gases.

Equipment
Trimix breathing gas, redundant bailout gas, decompression gas, dry suit, dive light, and a reel with DSMB to mark ascent position so the boat can identify your position and warn off shipping if necessary, are strongly recommended.

Nearby


Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Robben Island area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area