Scuba Diving in Malta is considered the best diving in the Mediterranean. The Maltese islands are blessed with warm temperatures, even in winter, clear, unpolluted seas, with visibility underwater in excess of thirty metres. Hundreds of kilometres of coastline, many of which are still unexplored, make the Maltese archipelago a favourite with adventurous divers.

HMS SOUTHWOLD (L10)
Type II HUNT Class Escort Destroyer ordered on 20th December 1939 from J S White, Cowes & Co under 1939 War Emergency Programme. The ship was laid down on 18th June 1940 as Job No J6274 and was launched on 29th May 1941 as the 1st RN warship to carry this name, that of a fox-hunt in Lincolnshire. Build was completed on 9th October 1941.Hunt Class destroyers had a net tonnage of 1050 tons, and were 86 meters long with a beam of 9.5 meters; these destroyers had a top speed of 25 knots and were used for convoy escorts.   HMS Southwold had a crew of 168 men and carried 3 x 2 barrel 4” guns one at the bow and 2 aft sections. She also carried anti-aircraft guns, and anti-submarine depth charges.
On 23/3/42 one of the merchant ships in this convoy Breconshire was hit by enemy bombs and stopped a few miles off St Thomas Bay, the weather was becoming rough and Breconshire was drifting helplessly towards the shore. The crew on Breconshire managed to anchor the ship 1.5 miles off Zonqor Point. The following Tuesday  morning on the 24/3/42 Breconshire was dragging it’s anchors on the sandy bottom,  Southold was ordered to  tow Breconshire but while trying to pass a line to the disabled ship, a mine exploded under her engine room. One officer and four ratings were killed. All power and electrical services were lost, but the diesel generator was started. The engine room flooded but water flooding into the gearing room was held in check by shoring up the bulkhead and by blocking leaks. A tow was attached to Southold by the tug ANCIENT, but the ship’s side plating abreast the engine room split right up to the upper deck on both sides. She sagged and took a list to starboard and the wounded were transferred to the destroyer Dulverton. The mid ship portion gradually sank lower and the ship began to work with the swell.  She was then abandoned, started to settle with considerable sag and sank in two parts.	HMS Southwold left again Alexandria on 20th March 1942 as an escort to convoy MW10 to Malta. The convoy was under the command of Admiral Philip Vian. The 820 nautical mile journey to Malta was severely attacked both by the Italian war ships and by the Luftwaffe Convoy code named MW10 consisted of the merchantmen Breconshire (10000 GRT), Clan Campbell (7000 GRT) Talabot (7000 GRT) & Pampas (5000 GRT). These cargo ships were escorted by the 15th Cruiser Squadron with a strong destroyer force , and another scout close escort running ahead with an the anti-aircraft cruiser Carlisle with 4 hunt class destroyers. Admiral Vian’s Cruiser Squadron followed behind with the light cruisers Dido, Cleopatra Euryalis, & Penelope plus some destroyers. What followed was recorded as the Second Battle of Sirte
HMS Southold lies in two sections the bow section is the largest piece, right up to the engine room approximately 40 meter in length is in a depth close to 70 meters completely on its starboard side. The stern section approximately 28 meters long is upright some 300 meters away from the bow section in 72 meters of water, HMS SOUTHWOLD lies approximately 1.5 miles off Marsascala Bay at a depth of 80metres.
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