Germania

On the night of 11 August 1876, the German steamer Germania was leaving the Baía de Todos os Santos after a call at Salvador when, with the Farol da Barra about 500 m away, it was discovered that the steering gear had broken. Built in 1870 by Caird & Co. in Greenock, Scotland, the ship was carrying salt cod, textiles, barrels of wine and paints. Adrift, she was pushed onto the Banco de Santo Antônio, where she struck the bottom and ran aground, and crew and passengers were easily saved thanks to the nearby shore. The cargo was badly damaged, causing a heavy loss for the insurer. Several attempts were made to free the ship, but over the months the hull was destroyed by the sea and sank completely. The date of the wreck is given as either 12 or 16 August 1876.

On 13 September 1903, the French steamer Bretagne sank after striking the hull of the wrecked Germania, breaking her rudder cable, which is why the two wrecks lie in the same place. The remains of the two ships look crossed like an X, though almost parallel, and the point where they meet is the boiler compartment. In the centre of the wreckage lie the remains of three low-pressure boilers from the Germania, mixed with the four high-pressure boilers of the Bretagne, which are in better condition. The wreck is part of the Parque Municipal Marinho da Barra, covering 322,143 m², which brings together the wrecks Bretagne (1903), Germânia (1876) and Miraldi (1875).

Huge numbers of fish move among the parts of the ships, with many schools of surgeonfish and butterflyfish, as well as moray eels, spider crabs, octopuses and large crabs. At night many fish can be found sleeping in the crevices of the rocks. Across the Parque Marinho da Barra as a whole, divers swim among fish, seahorses, corals and sea turtles. In the Farol da Barra area, the best time to dive is usually the dry season, from September to March.