Some say that when you dive on a shipwreck, you can feel the soul of the ship. Certainly, when a vessel sinks at sea, its story doesn’t end. Those that go down in turbulent waters are soon smashed to pieces, but many sink in areas where they remain largely intact and can be colonised by coral. Fish make the wreck their home — life springs from death.

For divers, the attraction is obvious: as well as seeing the normal reef denizens, you can experience a violent moment of history, frozen in time. In some cases, wrecks contain so many artefacts that they are regarded as submerged museums.

There is a trend for dive destinations to deliberately sink decommissioned or confiscated vessels in order to create a subaqua playground for wreckies (the Cayman Islands and Canada are especially keen on such “artificial reef” initiatives). Many of these wrecks are now beginning to mature and can make unusual training sites, but aficionados generally prefer to visit those shipwrecks whose sinking was not preordained.

It’s worth bearing in mind that most historical wrecks are also graves, and visiting them can be a sombre experience. Indeed, wreck diving in general can present a moral maze. Some nations — Britain included — ban divers from visiting certain wartime wrecks in which large numbers died. Respectful divers should try to minimise their impact on the structure and resist the temptation to collect souvenirs.

Wreck diving can be as easy or as challenging as you choose to make it. Exploring the exterior of a wreck is usually easy enough, but venturing inside a decaying ship can be dangerous. If you lose control and kick up sediment, visibility inside can be reduced to zero — finding your way out could become a struggle for survival. If you want safely to explore the insides of the shipwrecks below, use professional guides associated with the companies we list, dive within your experience and, if you want to try something advanced, get the relevant training.

A shipwreck reaches its biological and aesthetic peak after being submerged for 50 to 60 years. That’s enough time for a lush growth of coral, but not so long that the superstructure becomes unstable. Its natural adornment is very much a product of the place in which it met its fate: ocean currents, geographical location and depth all determine which animals can thrive on a rusting hulk. Here, then, are five of the world’s greatest wreck dives.

THE ZENOBIA, Cyprus

It only sank in 1980, but this immense Swedish roll-on, roll-off ferry makes the list as a perfect beginner wreck. The top sits at 50ft and the maximum depth is 140ft, making it an easy, shallow dive for novices, or a challenging deep penetration for advanced divers.

Being a relatively recent shipwreck, the disarray and violence of the sinking are more evident than in coral-encrusted wrecks: parts of articulated lorries can be seen hanging out of the rear doors and, stranger still, parts of the sea bed are carpeted with hundreds of eggs, which were somehow jet- tisoned during the sinking (many are still unbroken).

A word of warning: though some sections of the wreck offer straightforward diving, the vastness of the Zenobia is such that divers can become lost inside its labyrinth of passages and decks.

Skill level: suitable for beginners in the shallow sections, but venturing deep inside the wreck is strictly for advanced divers.

Book it: Aquatours (0870 442 3288, www.aquatours.com) has seven nights at the four-star Palm Beach Hotel in Larnaca from £595pp, B&B, including flights from Heathrow, Gatwick or Manchester. Diving packages start from £104.

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