BRODNESS (PROBABLY) - Naples & Campania
Brodness (Probably) is exactly the kind of dive we love: a proper deep wreck with a bit of mystery attached. This isn't a site for beginners. Dropping to 58m, it's a technical dive, pure and simple. What you’ll find down there, though, is a stunning steamship, sunk by a submarine in 1917, now completely draped in vibrant gorgonians. The visibility here can be superb, letting the scale of the wreck reveal itself slowly as you descend into the blue. Our favourite part is gliding over the bow, seeing the huge anchor chains still in place. Schools of barracuda often circle the mast, their silvery bodies flashing in the ambient light. Keep an eye out for conger eels peering from the darker recesses of the holds. It’s a journey back in time, a silent monument teeming with new life. We'd suggest pairing it with an early morning dive to avoid any potential boat traffic and to catch the best of the light.
- Location
- Naples & Campania, Italy, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 41.529050, 12.441717
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 58m
Wreck History - BRODNESS (PROBABLY)
- Year Sunk
- 1917
- Vessel Type
- cargo ship
- Cause
- torpedo
In the midst of the First World War, the steamship Brodness became another victim of Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 31, 1917, while undertaking a long-haul voyage from the Italian port of Genoa to Nankin, China, she was intercepted and sunk by a submarine. Her cargo and her mission were cut short as she sank beneath the waves of the Mediterranean, a civilian vessel lost to a global conflict.
Now resting at a depth of 58 meters in the waters off Campania, the wreck believed to be the Brodness is a serious undertaking reserved for experienced technical divers. Its depth has likely kept it well-preserved and free from the damage common to shallower sites. For those with the training and equipment, the Brodness offers a silent, atmospheric dive into history, a largely intact time capsule from WWI lying on the Italian seabed.
Marine Protected Area: Area naturale marina protetta Secche di Tor Paterno
Nearby Dive Sites in Naples & Campania
- A. MAVONA - 6m (wreck)
- AMELIA S - 17m (wreck)
- ANNA MARIA JEVOLI - 10m (wreck)
- ANNUNZIATA MADRE - 14m (wreck)
- ASHANTI PALM - 5m (wreck)
- Baia Underwater Archaeological Park
- Banco di Santa Croce - 31m (reef)
- BETTOLINA (POSSIBLY) - 33m (wreck)
- BOA (Secche di Tor Paterno - 24m (reef)
- BOMBARDIERE - 30m (wreck)
- BONACCIA - 48m (wreck)
- Bracciano - 11m
- Cala dei Turchi
- Cala della pergola
- Cala Gavitella
Nearest Dive Centres to BRODNESS (PROBABLY)
Marine Life in Naples & Campania
Home to 142 recorded species including 91 reef fish, 20 sharks & rays, 5 hard corals, 5 other, 4 crabs & lobsters, 4 whales & dolphins.
Notable Species
- mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) - Jellyfish
- Red coral (Corallium rubrum) - Soft Corals
- pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) - Reef Fish
- European fan-worm (Sabella spallanzanii) - Worms
- Bushy Coral (Cladocora caespitosa) - Hard Corals
- anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) - Reef Fish
- Mediterranean tapeweed (Posidonia oceanica) - Seagrass & Algae
- Herring (Sardinella aurita) - Reef Fish
- Wrasse (Coris julis) - Reef Fish
- Common Spiny Lobster (Palinurus elephas) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Scarlet Coral (Balanophyllia (Balanophyllia) europaea) - Hard Corals
- Blue-white Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - Whales & Dolphins
- Garrick (Lichia amia) - Reef Fish
- Common torpedo (Torpedo torpedo) - Sharks & Rays
- Damsel fish (Chromis chromis) - Reef Fish
- Sunset cup coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti) - Hard Corals
- Spotted Dragonet (Callionymus maculatus) - Reef Fish
- Pink Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa) - Soft Corals
- eel (Anguilla anguilla) - Reef Fish
- Corkwing (Symphodus melops) - Reef Fish