Wreck Diving in Anglesey

SS Missouri

The Missouri holds a special place in Anglesey diving — she is the largest vessel ever wrecked close inshore on the island's west coast, and one of the few worthwhile wrecks you can reach by wading in from a sandy beach. A March blizzard in 1886 drove this Warren Line barque-rigged steamer ashore at Porth Dafarch with a cargo manifest that reads like a Victorian general store: live cattle, thousands of cotton bales, sacks of flour, hides, and palm oil. Her remains now lie in two main sections across the bay, the forward part in the middle and the stern hard against the western cliffs, all at an easy 14 metres or less. The shore-dive access from Porth Dafarch beach makes her ideal for newly qualified divers looking for their first proper wreck experience, while the sheer scale of the debris field — from a ship of over 5,000 tons — gives experienced divers plenty to explore on repeat visits.