HMMS 170 - Portofino & Liguria
The HMMS 170 off Portofino is one of those wrecks that just hits different. It’s a minesweeper, sitting upright, and it feels like you're stepping back in time to 1944. You descend onto the deck, and you can still make out the anti-aircraft guns, poised as if ready for a fight. We love how intact it is, the stern especially, where the props are still there, almost perfectly preserved. As you explore, you'll find clouds of damselfish swirling around the superstructure. Look closer, and moray eels poke their heads from every nook and cranny. Our favourite part is navigating the internal corridors; the light plays through the portholes, creating this ethereal glow. It’s a proper penetration dive for those with the right training, but even from the outside, the scale and the history are palpable. This wreck suits divers who appreciate history and a bit of exploration, rather than just chasing big pelagics. We’d suggest going early to avoid the crowds from the dive boats, giving you a quieter experience.
- Location
- Portofino & Liguria, Italy, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 43.500000, 10.333333
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 0m
Marine Protected Area: Calafuria - Area terrestre e marina
Nearby Dive Sites in Portofino & Liguria
- Abyss Diving Center (wreck)
- Accademia Blu Diving Center
- Airplane Wreck WWII (wreck)
- ALFREDO CAPPELLINI - 7m (wreck)
- Ancorone
- Andrea Ghisotti (ex Scoglio del Raviolo)
- Argentarola Caves - 10-30m (cave)
- ARMATAN III - 22m (wreck)
- ASD POSIDONIA
- Baia di Castiglioncello - 10m
- Bettolina - 30m
- Biboz - 49m
- Bigo - 26m
- BOLZANETO - 55m (wreck)
- BR20
Nearest Dive Centres to HMMS 170
- 2.0 Diving - ["PADI"]
- 7 Perle ASD - ["PADI"]
- A 2.0
- Abissi s.r.l.
- Accademia Blu Diving Center
- ACQUA ACADEMY ASD - SSI
Marine Life in Portofino & Liguria
Home to 73 recorded species including 37 reef fish, 9 sharks & rays, 8 whales & dolphins, 4 sea snails & nudibranchs, 3 hard corals, 3 crabs & lobsters.
Notable Species
- Blue-white Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - Whales & Dolphins
- Bushy Coral (Cladocora caespitosa) - Hard Corals
- Damsel fish (Chromis chromis) - Reef Fish
- Red coral (Corallium rubrum) - Soft Corals
- Sunset cup coral (Leptopsammia pruvoti) - Hard Corals
- Corb (Sciaena umbra) - Reef Fish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Scarlet Coral (Balanophyllia (Balanophyllia) europaea) - Hard Corals
- Pink Sea Fan (Eunicella verrucosa) - Soft Corals
- Razorback (Balaenoptera physalus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Common Spiny Lobster (Palinurus elephas) - Crabs & Lobsters
- mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) - Jellyfish
- Wrasse (Coris julis) - Reef Fish
- Painted Comber (Serranus scriba) - Reef Fish
- Salema (Sarpa salpa) - Reef Fish
- Garrupa (Serranus cabrilla) - Reef Fish
- Moonfish (Mola mola) - Reef Fish
- Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris) - Whales & Dolphins
- Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) - Whales & Dolphins
- conger (Conger conger) - Reef Fish