It was May 6th 1941 when the steamship Bengasi, owned by the Tirrenia shipping company, was surprised and attacked by the British submarine Truant about a mile off the lighthouse on the Isola dei Cavoli. The torpedoes launched by the submarine hit the mark with their destructive power, shattering the entire bow section of Bengasi and causing its inevitable sinking.
Today the wreck of Bengasi is submerged by nearly a hundred meters of sea water, resting on the sand still in perfect sailing trim and giving the impression as if it was still on its journey, now ended more than 70 years ago.
The robust mooring line allows the long descent taking us up to about 80 meters deep, where we finally see the huge foredeck section devastated by the explosions. Despite the damage suffered in this area the wreck appears to rest almost entirely intact, with the bulwarks that in the stern area touch and surpass the 20 meters of height offering a literally awesome overview, given also the tonnage of the wreck long approximately 85 meters. Also the rudder and propeller, huge and covered by some colorful sea fans and an old concretionary fishing net, are worth to be seen despite the bottom in this area reaches the 96 meters of depth.
Other parts of the wreck not to be missed are the beautiful cannon protruding menacingly from the shape of the stern and the holds. Especially the front ones still contain an impressive amount of crystals, some still intact, so much that the Bengasi deserved the nickname of “wreck of the glasses”.
Notable the crystal clear visibility of the sea in this area which, despite the great depth, yet allows sunlight to partially illuminate of the environment!
But the real surprise of this dive is perhaps the marine life that surrounds the Bengasi, considering the depth range of about 100 meters: the wreck appears completely covered by oysters and some colorful sea fans, while clouds of anthias literally wrap it attracting beside other various species of predators. Large lobsters and big scorpion fishes inhabit the darkest recesses, while the specie undoubtedly more particular to note is the mola mola fish: this big and shy inhabitant of the sea is steadily around the structure of the wreck and leaves at times to approach divers, giving a further thrill to the lucky few who will venture into this challenging dive.
Obviously the dive is intended for a few “lucky” experienced Trimix divers that meet the requirements and experience necessary to deal with a so challenging profile. Beside, it is strongly recommended the use of a scooter/DPV given the size of the wreck, the inevitably reduced bottom time and the amount of gas and equipment that each diver necessary has to drag behind him.