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Introduction

Wreck diving is growing more and more popular in Britain. The thrill is seeing a ship that has lain undisturbed for decades - perhaps even centuries. A chance to explore what has been out of reach for so long. However, there are risks involved with diving. Unseen dangers abound. Then, there are the rules that must be obeyed such as respecting War Graves. Welcome to the world of the diver.

More ships have sunk around the coasts of Britain than any other country in the world. The best estimate of the number of ships lost in our coastal waters since man first took to water is over a quarter of a million. Most of these shipwrecks came about by collision, by storm, or by bad navigation. But a great number of merchant ships - 7265 of them British - were added to this total by the torpedoes of German U-boats in the First and Second World Wars.

The sheer quantity of wrecks is of course why wreck diving is the most popular activity of Britain's scuba divers. One of the problems that the divers encounter is poor visibility. However, the often poor "viz" ,as divers call the underwater visibility, only adds to their interest in wrecks. The viz in much of Britain's inshore waters can occasionally mean that you can't see your hand in front of your face mask. It is usually approximately about three metres but it is sometimes five. On exceptional days, it is 15 (excellent) and the rare 30 metres (fantastic!).

In low visibility, the scuba diver never knows what he will find on any dive and may suddenly see a huge ship loom up out of the underwater fog. No one apparently knew that she was there. So the divers now have a special wreck of "their very own". The thrill of being the first to see the ship since she sank. Questions such as - what kind of ship is she? How did she sink? Is that torpedo damage in her port side? What's her name? - spring to the divers mind.

The divers may be lucky and find the ship's bell with her name on it. There may be the builder's brass nameplate poking out of the wreckage. However it is more likely that the divers will have to surface without knowing her name. Finds such as a crested plate, a cup, a bottle, or something from her cargo - may identify her. The discovery of an "unknown" wreck will lead divers on a hunt through old records in libraries before the whole story of her sinking is revealed. Any wreck diver will tell you that this kind of dry-land research can be almost as exciting as the diving itself. Another way of becoming involved in wreck investigation is through the Nautical Archaeology Society.

Hidden dangers

Photo of a dive support ship  © A shipwreck is often the only thing standing up from a flat seabed plain. Consequently, it becomes a magnet for all kinds of fish, shellfish and other marine life. Big conger eels live in most shipwrecks. Lobsters call them home. So do big crabs. And huge shoals of pouting and pollack are always to be found circling around.However, there are serious dangers that must be watched. There is little danger from sealife as big congers will not attack you, nor will big lobster or crab unless you put your hand in their claws.

The real dangers are the depth and the time spent underwater which must never be forgotten. Decompression sickness - the "bends" - is always waiting to strike divers who break the rules and make fast ascents from deep wrecks. The British Sub-Aqua Club has always recommended 50 metres as the sensible limit for experienced amateurs diving using compressed air. Wreck divers should stick to that limit, even though modern gas mixtures appear more tolerant than compressed air. They should be wary too of their depth when exploring the ship. The inside may be much deeper than the outside if the ship has sunk into a soft seabed.

Wreck diving is not for the inexperienced and has it's own special dangers. Like all amateur diving, it is never carried out alone. There is the risk of running low on air due to becoming absorbed in exploring the wreck, or getting entangled in a fishing net (sometimes many nets are draped over one ship). The wreck diver is bound to consider exploring inside the wreck if a suitable hole or entrance is found. However wreck penetration is the most dangerous part of this kind of diving.

Even swimming under a piece of wreckage is dangerous. Hanging wreckage may be so unstable that it will fall because of the disturbance which is caused by the diver's exhaust bubbles or fin movements. One diver on a wreck recently was trapped by a steel door falling on him and pinning him to the seabed. He was saved by the prompt action of his buddy diver.

Forbidden wrecks

Diver exploring the seabed for archaeological evidence  © A number of divers have died trapped in wrecks. Silting of a wreck takes place very quickly after her sinking. This makes it very dangerous to enter a wreck without some foolproof method of return to a clear exit point. One such method is a lifeline. A few fin strokes inside a wreck are enough to turn visibility into absolute zero. In that black cloud, even the powerful torches which every wreck diver carries, could not show them a way out to the open sea. Wreck penetration is not a spur of the moment thing. It has to be carefully planned in the same way as cave diving.

There are certain wrecks that are protected by law. These are wrecks of historic importance and "War Graves". Forty-eight wrecks dating from a Bronze Age galley to a submarine of 1880 are designated under the Protection of Wrecks Act of 1973 and all diving on them is banned without special permission. A classic example of this kind of wreck is Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose, sunk in 1545. After being found by amateur divers, she was protected until raised and put on show at Portsmouth. It is also possible to see some protected wrecks through the Nautical Archaeology Society.

The Military Remains Act of 1986 puts other restrictions on some wrecks of ships and aircraft "known to contain remains of service personnel". Though divers may visit these "war graves", it is only on a look-but-no-touch basis. Divers may not enter such wrecks, disturb them or remove any artifacts.

Wreck divers like to collect souvenirs from wrecks but every item recovered from a wreck must be reported to the Receiver of Wreck at the Coastguard Agency in Southampton. In the case of a small fairly modern item, such as a porthole, the diver is usually allowed to keep it. Other more valuable items are held by the Receiver for a year and a day and, if not claimed by their owner during that time, become the property of the Crown. They then may be auctioned. In such a case the diver is entitled to a salvage award from the proceeds.

Find out more

Books

The Wreck Diving Manual by Lizzie Bird (The Crowood Press , 1997)

Complete Wreck Diving: A Guide to Diving Wrecks by Henry Keatts and Brian Skerry (Aquapress, Unknown)

Essentials of Deeper Sport Diving by John Lippmann (Aqua Quest Publications, 1992)

Dive England's Greatest Wrecks by Rod Macdonald (Mainstream Publishing, 2003)

Dive Scotland's Greatest Wrecks by Rod Macdonald (Mainstream Publishing, 2003)

Into the Abyss: Diving to Adventure in the Liquid World by Rod Macdonald (Mainstream Publishing, 2003)

Fireside Diver by Bonnie Cardone (Aquapress, 1995)

Neutral Buoyancy: Adventures in a Liquid World by Tim Ecott (Penguin Books Ltd, 2002)

The Silent World (National Geographic Adventure Classics) by Jacques Yves Cousteau (National Geographic Society, 2004)

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