Diving the Minnewaska in Chania, Crete

A WWI troop ship that struck a mine and was built at the same shipyard as the Titanic, now scattered across the seabed in Souda Bay.

I dove the Minnewaska in June 2026 with Chania Diving, by boat out of Souda Bay, Crete.

The Wreck

The Minnewaska was built at Harland & Wolff in Belfast, the same shipyard that built the Titanic.

On November 29, 1916, she was carrying 1,800 troops from Alexandria to Thessaloniki when she struck a stray German mine near Souda Bay.

The blast tore a hole in her hull, but the captain beached her before she went down, and every soldier and crew member got off safely.

She was scrapped in 1918.

Today her remains lie scattered across the seabed in Souda Bay.

The wreck has broken down over time, but recognizable sections still show her original form.

The Dive

We took a short boat ride out of Souda Bay to reach the site, following our dive at Elephant Cave.

Souda Bay is believed to have once been a landlocked lake, and you can notice that underwater. The seabed and marine life look nothing like a typical Mediterranean ocean dive. It's a noticeably different environment.

The wreck sits at a manageable depth, making it an easy dive suitable for beginners as well as more experienced divers.

The wreck sits right in the shadow of a NATO naval base and airforce field, which makes for a pretty unique surface-level backdrop before you drop in.