Called “ISTRA“ for years, the true identity of this wreck was only recently established as the steamship “Hans Schmidt.“

A short distance from the lighthouse of S. Giovanni (Sv. Ivan), off the coast of Rovinj, at a depth of 30-35 m is Maona, a small cargo vessel which, with its length of 40 m, offers a relatively simple dive for divers, in conditions of good visibility. Suitable for AOWD with a minimum of 40 dives.

The Italian minesweeper was built in 1913 and sunk in 1944. Until 1929 she bore the name „Pilade Bronzetti“. She was sunk by a British aircraft which spotted her during a reconnaissance flight. The torpedo broke the ship in half and therefore the bow and stern are about fifty yards apart.

It is believed to have been one of the first ships sunk on Istrian territory at the beginning of World War I.According to the data, the ship was built in an English shipyard and equipped with J. Gilmore engines, from which she received her name. The well-preserved interior of the vessel can be accessed.

Due to the bad weather that hit the whole Adriatic at the time, the captain decided to take refuge in the port of Pula; heading towards the city, he struck a mine which destroyed the bow, sinking the ship in the place where it still stands. During the dive, one can enter the wreck which is quite wide and safe.

Bad weather conditions in November 1912 were fatal for the fate of the Romagna, a cargo ship sunk near Rovinj. That was the last time she sailed, carrying grain from Ravenna to Trieste. Today she lies at a depth of 40 m, with her length of 60 m, almost completely covered by shreds of fishing nets.

The Italian merchant steamship “Varese“ sank in 1915 while transporting cargo from Trieste to Tunis. Because of bad weather, the captain decided to take refuge in the port of Pula. Heading towards the city, ship struck a mine which destroyed the prow, the ship sinking in the place where it is today.

A tugboat sunk in the 1960s was used for manoeuvring larger ships in the harbour. It’s 15m long so there is no possibility of going inside the wreck.

The dive begins on a shallow plateau at a depth of 5m and goes down slightly to the southwest until it reaches a wall that gently drops to 30m of depth, which we follow on its right side. The slope extends throughout the south side of the Brijuni Islands, which are decorated with numerous pinnacles.

We dive along the west side of the Verudela peninsula. The reef is located near the anchorage site and follows the coast in parallel. We dive right of the wall, which drops steeply up to 25 m deep.