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Relitto del Genepesca
Italy · wreck · intermediate
25–33 mintermediateAOWboat entry
Relitto del Genepesca
A 1940s Italian factory trawler mined three weeks after the war ended, sitting upright on sand off the Secche di Vada with yellow gorgonians along her port side.
Max depth25–33 m
Required levelintermediate
Entry typeboat
Visibilitynot sourced
The dive
The Genepesca I was an Italian fishing vessel, launched on 24 February 1940 at the Riva Trigoso yard near Sestri Levante, diesel-driven with a four-blade propeller and a crew of 31. On 26 May 1945, three weeks after the war in Europe ended, she was running from Tunis to Livorno with a cargo of foodstuffs when she hit a mine off Vada and sank. Nobody was lost. Published dimensions do not agree: one Italian wreck register gives 78.71 m by 12.23 m, another 72.60 m by 12.20 m and 1,620 tonnes. She now lies on sand about ten kilometres offshore between Vada and Marina di Cecina, on the Secche di Vada, roughly 15 to 20 minutes out from the coast.
She sits upright, in navigation trim, and the dive is a straightforward tour of a large hull rather than a puzzle. The seabed around her is quoted between 30 and 33 m depending on the source. How high she stands has changed: older descriptions start the dive at 18 to 20 m on the funnel, but a diver who filmed her in May 2024 reports that the funnel and the aft deckhouse it stood on, the one carrying the painted word GENEPESCA, collapsed some years earlier, probably pulled down by a trawl net, and that the highest structure now reaches about 25 to 26 m. Take the shallower figures as historical.
The hull carries several species of Eunicella, and the yellow gorgonians along the port rail are the thing photographers come back for. Conger, moray, dentex and grouper are the fish a local dive boat lists here, over a sand bottom. Two things make the dive unpredictable rather than difficult: visibility, described anywhere from good to poor and explicitly as not forecastable, and the mucilage that usually blankets the wreck through the summer and can smother both the gorgonians and the photography.
Penetration is not advised. The dive boat that runs the site warns that part of the load-bearing structure has collapsed, and the same trawl gear that took down the funnel leaves snagged net on wrecks like this one. Treat it as an outside dive on a big, intact-looking hull at 30 m.
- Large fishing vessel sitting upright in navigation trim on sand
- Yellow gorgonians and several Eunicella species along the port rail
- Mined on 26 May 1945, three weeks after the war in Europe ended, with no loss of life
- Conger, moray, dentex and grouper around the hull
Please note before you go
- Part of the load-bearing structure has collapsed and the operator advises against penetration
- Trawl gear works this ground; the funnel is thought to have been pulled down by a net, so expect snagged monofilament and netting
- 30 to 33 m on sand with short no-decompression time
- Ten kilometres offshore on a mobile anchor with no permanent mooring, so surfacing away from the boat is a real risk
- Summer mucilage can cut visibility on the wreck to almost nothing
Access & rules
Mandatory requirementsGetting there
Boat only, about 15 to 20 minutes out from the Livorno coast between Vada and Marina di Cecina. There is no mooring buoy; the boat anchors on the wreck each time, which is why this is a dive you do with someone who already has the position. A Mediterranean wreck database gives the position as roughly 43.291 N, 10.350 E, citing nautical charts, which is about 400 m from this catalogue pin.
Operator
Access to the site runs through a local operator.
Season
The constraint here is not weather but mucilage: a diver who films this wreck regularly notes it is usually covered through the summer and dived in late May specifically to catch it clean. That points at spring and autumn for anyone who wants the gorgonians and the photographs. The same May dive found the bottom water at about 17 degrees, so this is not a warm dive at either end of the season.
Conditions
Visibilitynot sourced
Currentlight
Surgenot sourced
WaterSalt water
Depth range25–33 m
Environmentwreck
Coralnot sourced
Crowdsnot sourced
Fifteen to twenty minutes out from the coast to an unmarked position on the Secche di Vada, then a descent on the boat's anchor line onto a hull standing upright on sand. Current is normally light. Visibility swings from a few metres to good with no reliable pattern, and in summer the wreck is often coated in mucilage.
On current: The local dive boat rates the current here as light. Visibility is the variable that matters and nobody will promise you a number: one register calls it good, another good to excellent but not predictable, the boat's own sheet says merely sufficient, and a diver filming her in late May 2024 had 5 to 6 m at best with a bottom temperature around 17 degrees. Depth figures also disagree, from 30 to 33 m on the sand; we have taken the deeper. Old descriptions that start the dive at 18 to 20 m date from before the funnel came down.
Questions & answers
How deep is the Genepesca wreck?
She lies on sand at 30 to 33 m depending on which register you read. The highest remaining structure is around 25 to 26 m. Older descriptions that put the top of the dive at 18 to 20 m were written when the funnel was still standing; a diver who filmed her in 2024 reports it and the aft deckhouse have collapsed.
What ship is the Genepesca and how did she sink?
An Italian fishing vessel launched on 24 February 1940 at the Riva Trigoso yard near Sestri Levante, about 1,620 tonnes with a crew of 31. On 26 May 1945, three weeks after the war in Europe ended, she was carrying foodstuffs from Tunis to Livorno when she struck a mine off Vada. She sank without loss of life.
Can you go inside the Genepesca?
It is not advised. The dive boat that runs the site states that part of the load-bearing structure has collapsed and recommends against penetration. Trawl gear works this ground and is thought to have pulled the funnel down, so snagged netting is a live risk. Dive the outside of the hull.
What certification do I need for the Genepesca?
A depth qualification beyond entry level. The registers rate it anywhere from medium to advanced, and one diver who knows it well calls it recreational and medium-to-easy, but the bottom is at 30 m or more, which puts it in Advanced Open Water or Deep territory with a short no-decompression window. Nitrox helps.
What is the visibility like on the Genepesca?
Genuinely unpredictable, and the sources say so. One wreck group rates it good to excellent but explicitly not forecastable; the dive boat's own sheet says merely sufficient; a diver filming her in late May 2024 had 5 to 6 m at best. Bottom water on that dive was about 17 degrees.
When is the best time to dive the Genepesca?
Outside the summer mucilage. A diver who films this wreck regularly notes it is normally coated through the warm months and went in late May specifically to catch it clean, which is when the yellow gorgonians on the port rail actually show. Spring and autumn are the sensible windows.
How do you get to the Genepesca?
By boat, 15 to 20 minutes out from the Livorno coast between Vada and Marina di Cecina, on the Secche di Vada. There is no mooring buoy, so the boat anchors on the wreck each time and you descend the anchor line. Published positions put her near 43.291 N, 10.350 E.
What will I see on the wreck?
A large hull sitting upright in navigation trim on sand, carrying several Eunicella species with yellow gorgonians along the port rail. The local dive boat lists conger, moray, dentex and grouper around the structure. The painted GENEPESCA lettering on the aft deckhouse is no longer standing.
Life recorded at Relitto del Genepesca
1 species within 4.58 km · OBISTritia neritearare · 1 records
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