GALDSTAR

This merchant ship was carrying 950 tons of borax (sodium borate) from Rotterdan to Barcelona when the ship ran aground in Bajos Delgados, three miles from Cape Prior, and suffered a leak that was impossible to repair. After several futile attempts to reduce the water and tow it, it finally sank on October 16, 1977 off the Ría de Viveiro. On the starboard side on a sandy bottom at a depth of 45m and with the highest parts at 35m, the wreck is broken into two pieces lying at a distance of 40-50m. The entire structure is completely covered with spirographs, gorgonians, large sponges and other encrusting organisms. Being a large isolated structure within a sandy area, the merchant can be considered as an independent habitat full of life, with the presence of large conger eels, snook, rays, tembladeras, pintos, nudibrnchs and a multitude of crustaceans such as lobsters, lobsters, santiaguiños , necoras, and spider crabs. Given the depth and the existence of high currents, the difficulty of the dive is high.
Various sources
LOCATION
Autonomous Community: Galicia
Provincia: Lugo
Localidad: Ría de Viveiro
Centers
- Center: Viveiro Diving Center http://www.buceoviveiro.es/
REQUEST DETAILS
Apelativo: El mercante
Año del hundimiento: 1977
Causas: Encallado
Profundidad máxima: 45
Profundidad mínima: 35