Name of Wreck: MV Bolivar

Diving Grade required:  Experienced Trainee Diver due to location & currents

History of Wreck:

• Built by Akers of Oslo, she grossed 5,230 tons, measured 445 x 57 x 24ft. and was owned by the Fred Olsen Line.
• Powered by a 14 cylinder oil engine.
• She was on her maiden voyage which took her to South America and on to Dublin via Liverpool.
• Struck the Kish Bank 4th March 1947during a severe snowstorm and freezing conditions. Despite attempts to pull herself off the bank, she broke in two.
• Engine room was salvaged and she was partly dispersed in 1948 with explosives as she was an obstruction. The bow section is intact.
• There were facilities on board for 12 passengers and on her maiden voyage she was carrying her full complement in addition to 39 crew-members. The only casualty was a crew member with a broken arm.

Diving the Wreck:

• The wreck lies on the Kish Bank in an East/West direction near the No. 2 Buoy and is broken in two – stern to mid-castle section and bow which lies 150 metres to the North. Due to the shifting sand different parts are exposed or covered.
• Co-ordinates 53 16.21 North, 05 55.21 West (TBC).
• Best dived 1.5 to 2 hours before High/Low Water Dublin Port.
• The maximum depth of the seabed around this wreck is about 8 to 10 metres but may vary due to the shifting sands.
• Visibility generally good (5 meters plus)
• Suitable for trainee divers but be aware that if you get the tides wrong you may be swept away from the wreck so an SMB is essential
• Plenty of fish, lobsters, congers etc. and lots of artefacts lying around. As the sands shift regularly there is always something new to see and find.

Transit time to dive site:

• Approx. 25 minutes from Dun Laoghaire to site

Precautions:

Current can be strong if the tides are missed so either reel off from the shot line. Deploy an SMB if the shot is missed on ascent

    AIR & DECO:

Normal NDL’s & stops should apply for this dive.

Map for general reference only (Ref. Dublin University SAC)