''Boltenhagen'' (GS09) was a Kondor I-class

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

built in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. After the

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

was disbanded just before the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

, she was sold to Malta in 1997 and renamed ''P29'' and was used as a patrol boat. After being decommissioned, she was scuttled as a dive site in 2007 off Ċirkewwa.

History

East Germany

The minesweeper was laid down on 8 October 1969 at Peenewerft shipyard in

Wolgast Wolgast () is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast that can be accessed ...

. She was launched on 22 May 1970 and commissioned on 19 September of that same year. She was the eighteenth ship of the Kondor I class to be built, and was named ''Boltenhagen'' after the town of the same name in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. She was used to patrol the river banks between East and West Germany, as well as a minesweeper.

Germany

After the

, the minesweeper was decommissioned along with most of the Kondor I class vessels. However, it was then used as a patrol vessel by the German Federal Coast Guard. The name ''Boltenhagen'' was retained but she was given the pennant number BG31. The ship's guns were dismantled, the radio and radar equipment was changed, and it was repainted. BG31, the last Kondor I class in the German Coast Guard, was decommissioned on 30 June 1996.

Malta

The former minesweeper was then purchased by Malta on 24 July 1997 and was given the pennant number ''P29''. She rejoined her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s ''Ueckermünde'' and ''Pasewalk'' which were purchased by Malta back in 1992 and were given the pennant numbers ''P30'' and ''P31''. ''P29'' became a patrol boat within the Offshore Command of the

Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta () is the naval component of the Armed Forces of Malta, Maltese military. The Maritime Squadron has responsibility for the security of Malta, Maltese territorial waters, maritime surveillance a ...

. Since the former minesweepers were purchased unarmed, some light armament was then added by the AFM. ''P29'' was then used to secure the Maltese coast against smuggling and border control operations. She was decommissioned in 2004 and was bought by the Malta Tourism Authority in September 2005. She was cleaned and then was scuttled on 14 August 2007 off the port of Ċirkewwa to serve as a diving site and artificial reef.

Wreck

The wreck now lies at a depth of around but the entire dive may be done at . The highest point is situated only below the surface. The site is located close to the wreck of the , which was scuttled in 1992. Since it was quite recently sunk compared to and other wreck sites in Malta, it requires some time to attract a good amount of marine life inside and around it. However, since its sinking, '' Alicia mirabilis'',

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

, flying gurnards and rays have already started settling on the former patrol boat. In 2013, ''P29'' was listed among the "10 Most Incredible Sunken Ships on Earth" by Amazing Beautiful World. Malte P29 01.jpg, The stern Malte P29 16.jpg, The superstructure Malte P29 08.jpg, Commemorative plaque to Frank Pembridge Malte P29 13.jpg, Mock-up machine gun

References