Overview

Wreck diving is a certain kind of diving activity and holds a special significance for experienced divers. There is nothing quite like the excitement of the descent to a 'virgin' wreck. The feeling that somewhere, somehow the wrecked vessel was once a sea-going vessel from another age and era. As they lie in their final resting place shipwrecks now fulfil a role as a kind of timecapsule as well as a santuary for marine life.
The concentration of wrecks varies around the world. Any area of sea or waterway where there has been extensive shipping or where modern wars have been fought there will be a rich amount of shipwrecks. Hazardous coasts with isolated dangers that intrude into the shipping lanes or fishing grounds will also have a history of wrecks. The coasts of the British Isles qualify on all these counts and are famous for ancient wrecks; especially the mediterranean or coral encrusted areas of the caribbean. Some of these hold archaeological artifacts of enormous scientific and historical significance. Others have attracted a more adventurous group of divers whow are concerned with selling the hidden relics to the highest bidder!

Shipwreck Ownership

Wreck ownership can vary from country to country although in general it is usually the owner at the time of sinking, the state, an insurance company, a salvage ship / firm or even a diving club. Exceptions to this rule tend to be historic wrecks or recognised war graves, both of which are usually protected by regulations. However in open waters (outside any country's territory) they are fair game for enterprising divers. Those wrecks in harbours, anchourages and fairways are often subject to local byelaws and officialdom.
Tampering and removing items from a wreck belonging to somebody else is forbidden unless the owner gives permission. In the UK all such items are supposed to be declared to the Receiver of Wreck. This extends to small trophies and souvenirs cherished by many divers.

Causes of Shipwrecks

Vessels are wrecked for a great number of reasons, The foremost of these is bad weather, such as high winds, rough seas or fog. All of these can cause a skipper to lose either his way or control of his vessel. In bygone days before the advent of navigational aids such as radar, sailing vesels were much more at the mercy of the weather than nowadays and many vesels were lost because of this.
Hazards to navigation, such as reefs and small islands, have often led to shoips being lost. Many have run aground and have been refloated. Others have not been so fortunate and have become a total loss. The human errors of sailing masters, navigators and helmsmen have been largely responsible for the loss of vessels down the years.
Vessels have also been lost because they became disabled, due to power failure, steering faults, dismasting, etc and have drifted out of control onto some hazard.
Collisions have been the cause of many shipping losses. The sheer volume of shipping in small, concentrated areas such as harbours, estuaries and narrow straits had led to many collisions and losses because of lack of sea room or manoeuvrability.
In times of war many ships go to davy jones locker due to mines, torpedoes, aircraft, gunfire or other methods. The end result is the same - a desperate human at the time and, years later, another splendid wreck for divers to explore.

Wartime Wrecks

Many of the wrecks around the European coasts are the result of hostilities in the two world wars. Having been badly damaged at the time of their loss, many of them are now in danger of collapse. Due care should, therefore, be exercised on these war losses, and, indeed, on all old wrecks. Large numbers of wartime wrecks contain live ammunition such as shells and mines. These can be very dangerous and certainly must not be tampered with, nor should any attempt be made to recover them.

Wrecks in Fresh Water

Wrecks in fresh water usually are found in lakes and waterways; the Great Lakes in the USA have a great number of wrecks from days gone by. Wrecks here can often be deep and in poor visibility. This is offset by the superior condition that many wrecks in fresh water are in. Fresh water generally preserves and salt water erodes and deteriorates, although dense mud alleviates this.

Marine Life on Wrecks

Wrecks in the sea provide and ideal place for the colonization of marine life. A wreck on a muddy bottom will become an oasis for encrusting marine life. Any wreck that projects off a flat bottom into a tidal stream will also probide a solid substrate on which filter-feeding life can grow. Fish, in particular, are attracted to the shelter provided by wrecks.
Some fish life can be a slight danger to the unwary diver. Conger eels live in dark holes and, not surprisingly, resent being prodded with diving knives. In warmer water, moray eels also inhabit wreck crevices. Although not naturally aggressive, both types can inflict an unpleasant bite if provoked.
The depth at which a wreck lies governs the types of marine life to be found there. Shallow wrecks in temperate water are usually covered with a profuse growth of weed. In warm waters, coral growths can quite quickly mask a wreck and will eventually hide it completely.

Condition of Shipwrecks

The quality of a wreck dive is dependent on a number of factors such as visibility, underwater conditions, diving support, experience of the divers, and, of course, the condition of the wreck itself.
The wreck's condition can depend on its age, its exposure to wave and tidal action, and its depth. The material used to build the ship controls how the vessel will degrade. Wooden vessels will break up quite easily and will also be attacked by some sea life. Iron vessels will rust, although as the iron corrodes it may do so to actually form a protective layer and preserve brass and copper fittings.
If the wreck has been commercially salvaged or dispersed with explosives to prevent it becoming a shipping hazard then it may hardly be recognizable.
It should be possible (info permitting) from research to judge the condition of a wreck by browsing Diving Lore before visiting the site itself, by taking into account the above factors.

Best Type of Wrecks for Diving

Although a divers personal style, skill and preference will indicate which wrecks are best there are some criteria generally agreed on. The first is ease of access; how easy it is to reach the wreck, it could be a laid back shore dive out to the wreck or more likely you'll need to dive from a boat. The best wrecks are considered to be substantially intact in the 20 - 30 meter region and in warm tropical water. Although this is considered ideal, only a few wrecks fall into this category.
A wreck represents a time capsule for its period and history. For nautical arcaelogists and for many enthusiastic amateur divers this can be very important, irrespective if the wrecks condition.
Equally a gold-carrying wreck, smashed up on a beach, would be of more interest to would-be treasure hunters than to divers, who prefer a submerged, intact vessel.
Vessels lost by collision can often yield the best wreck diving because they usually been lost in the deeper water of a shipping lane, often in enclosed and relatively shallow coastal water. Those wrecks that remain will generally be in deeper water as wrecks in shallow channelswill either have already been salvaged or dispersed.
Wrecks that lie in deep water can be more exclusive and special to technical divers who see their skills and training as key to unlocking their secrets. Outside the depths of recreational dive limits they remain in a superior condition to shallower wrecks. In addition, these wrecks can often be traced through local archives, as described below.
An undiscovered wreck is the dream of most divers. The thrill of being first down, with the ever-present lure of 'hidden-treasure', is probably the force motivating most enthusiastic wreck divers.

Locating Wrecks

Locating wrecks, which are not well known, can provide divers with a great challenge. We should distinguish between two different problems - locating an exact position on the seabed where a wreck is definitely known to be and finding a wreck, whose position is known only approximately or, in the case of ancient wrecks, not known at all.
How we go about locating a position on a stretch of water depends on the environment of that water. Thus, if the position is well out to sea, out of sight of land, we have no option but to use some electronic means of position location. Local fishermen may give clues to a wrecks location which can narrow down search areas. If off a plain, flat, featureless coast, we again have problems, and electronic position fixing is again more important. When operating off mountainous or other well-featured coasts, it is usually quite easy to find at least two land mark references (LMRs, transits), although describing these so that another can use them can be very difficult. Estuaries usually provide easy conditions for the location of land mark references, as do small areas of water.

Wreck Diving | Shipwrecks