Wreck Diving
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Wreck diving is
recreational diving Recreational diving or sport diving is diving for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment, usually when using scuba equipment. The term "recreational diving" may also be used in contradistinction to "technical diving", a more demanding aspect of r ...
where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites. Diving to crashed aircraft can also be considered wreck diving. The recreation of wreck diving makes no distinction as to how the vessel ended up on the bottom. Some wreck diving involves penetration of the wreckage, making a direct ascent to the surface impossible for a part of the dive.


Reasons for diving wrecks

A shipwreck may be attractive to divers for several reasons: * it serves as an artificial
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
, which creates a habitat for many types of
marine life Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. M ...
* it often is a large structure with many interesting parts and machinery, which is not normally closely observable on working, floating vessels * it often has an interesting history * it presents new skill challenges for
scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...
to manage the risks associated with wreck penetration. * it is part of the
underwater cultural heritage The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage is a treaty that was adopted on 2 November 2001 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).UNESC"2001 Convention o ...
and may be an important archaeological resource * it provides a first-hand insight into context for the loss, such as causal connections, geographical associations, trade patterns and many other areas, providing a microcosm of our maritime heritage and
maritime history Maritime history is the study of human interaction with and activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant. As an academic subject, it ...
* it sometimes contains artifacts of historical, artistic and/or monetary value, which can be sought for profit (
treasure hunting Treasure hunter is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities. The practice of treasure ...
) or collection purposes (ranging from rare collector's items to souvenirs, memorabilia or other "trophies", such as crew members' or passengers' personal belongings, nautical instruments, brass
porthole A porthole, sometimes called bull's-eye window or bull's-eye, is a generally circular window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Though the term is of maritime origin, it is also used to describe round windows on armored vehicle ...
s or silverware, cutlery, intact
china China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
or other
tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, List of glassware, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variet ...
).


Types of wreck diving

In ''The Advanced Wreck Diving Handbook'',
Gary Gentile Gary Gentile (born 1946) is an American author and pioneering technical diver. Diving Gary Gentile is a wreck diver. It has been suggested that Gary Gentile may be the most experienced wreck diver in the world. He has dived on the wreck of the ...
sub-divides wreck diving into three categories: * Non-penetration diving (i.e. swimming outside the wreck) * Limited penetration diving, within the "light zone", the parts of the interior of the wreck from which light entering the wreck from an exit can be seen. There may be parts of the interior illuminated by exterior light penetrating though holes too small to exit through, and these are not generally considered part of the light zone, as they cannot be used as an escape route. Limited penetration limits penetration to where the diver can see the way out. * Full penetration diving, beyond the "light zone" Each subsequent level involves additional hazards and greater risk, and therefore will normally require additional training and experience to develop the required competence, and may also require additional equipment and the competence to use it effectively. Non-penetration wreck diving is the least hazardous form of wreck diving, although divers still need to be aware of the entanglement risks presented by
fishing net A fishing net is a net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively thin ...
s and
fishing line A fishing line is a flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attachm ...
s which may be snagged to the wreck (wrecks are often popular fishing sites), and the underlying terrain may present greater risk of sharp edges. Penetration within the light zone presents greater hazards due to overhead and greater proximity of the wreck's structure, but because of the proximity of a visible exit point, and some amount of external light, those hazards are more manageable. However, there is clearly a much greater risk of entanglement and
silt out A silt out or silt-out is a situation when underwater visibility is rapidly reduced to functional zero by disturbing fine particulate deposits on the bottom or other solid surfaces. This can happen in scuba and surface supplied diving, or in ROV ...
inside of the structure, as well as the requirement to move laterally to a defined exit point before one can surface in the event of an emergency. Full penetration involves the greatest level of risks, including the risk of getting lost within the structure, the risk of complete darkness in the event of multiple light failures, and the inability to escape unassisted in the event of a complete disruption to breathing gas supply. These categorisations broadly coincide with the traditional division between "
recreational Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure ...
" wreck diving (taught as a specialty course by recreational diver training agencies and normally limited to the "light zone" and/or 100-130 cumulative feet of depth plus penetration) and "
technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
" wreck diving (taught as a stand-alone course by technical diver training agencies).


Procedures and safety

Wrecks may present a variety of site-specific hazards to divers. Wrecks are often fouled by fishing lines or nets and the structure may be fragile and break without notice.
Penetration diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on contex ...
, where the diver enters a shipwreck is an activity exposing the diver to hazards of getting lost, entrapment and consequently running out of breathing gas. Management of these risks requires special skills and equipment. Many attractive or well preserved wrecks are in deeper water requiring
deep diving Deep diving is underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the associated community. In some cases this is a prescribed limit established by an authority, while in others it is associated with a level of certification or training, an ...
precautions. Training agencies recommend that at least one cutting device be carried in case the diver is entangled with fishing lines, nets or ropes and to have a spare light source in case the primary light fails. If penetrating a wreck, a guideline tied off before entering a wreck and run out inside the wreck is required by training agencies. A guideline can help a diver to find the way out more easily in case of low visibility, and has often been necessary for survival. For penetration diving, a reserve of
breathing gas A breathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration. Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas, but other mixtures of gases, or pure oxygen, are also used in breathing equipment and enclosed h ...
sufficient to allow the diver to exit the wreck and make a safe ascent in the event of any reasonably foreseeable single failure of equipment is required by training agencies' protocols and scientific codes of practice. Most wreck divers use a minimum of the rule-of-thirds for gas management. This allows for 1/3 of the gas down and into the wreck, 1/3 for exit and ascent and 1/3 reserve. In dives where decompression stops are required this may not be sufficient. In addition, because of the potential fragility of the wreck, the likelihood of disturbing sediments or disturbing the many marine animals that take advantage of the artificial habitat offered by the wreck, extra care is required when moving and finning. Many divers are taught to use alternative finning methods such as
frog kick Finning techniques are the skills and methods used by swimmers and underwater divers to propel themselves through the water and to maneuver when wearing swimfins. There are several styles used for propulsion, some of which are more suited to part ...
or modified flutter kick which direct the thrust of the fins away from the bottom where most of the silt is likely to deposit. Good buoyancy control is necessary for safe and non-destructive diving in the environment of a wreck.


Connecting to the wreck

There are several methods for getting the divers to the wreck. The preferred method will depend on local conditions. In low visibility hooking onto the wreck is a reliable way of ensuring the divers will find it, but this procedure requires a wreck that is structurally suitable for snagging with a
grapnel A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hol ...
or
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
. A
shotline A diving shot line, shot line, or diving shot, a type of downline or descending line (US Navy), is an item of diving equipment consisting of a ballast weight (the shot), a line and a buoy. The weight is dropped on the dive site. The ...
which can be dropped off the wreckage is less likely to damage the wreck or become snagged and difficult to retrieve, but this requires appropriate visibility for the divers to be sure of finding the wreckage. When it is important to get back to the shotline for ascent, it may be tied to the wreckage by the first divers on site using a guide-line, which is retrieved by the last divers to leave. When there is a strong current, it may be necessary to drop in from up-current, a technique sometimes known as "parachuting in" or "free drop". The wreck may be first marked with a shotline, if this is considered useful or necessary. Divers may surface on the shotline, anchorline or personal
decompression buoy A surface marker buoy, SMB, dive float or simply a blob is a buoy used by scuba divers, at the end of a line from the diver, intended to indicate the diver's position to people at the surface while the diver is underwater. Two kinds are used; on ...
depending on the conditions. When using the anchor line to control ascents and descents, a "tag line" may be used between the anchor line and the stern of the vessel, to allow secure transfer between these points in a current. When there are alternative methods for descent, including free drop and descent on the shotline.


Penetration diving

In technical penetration diving, there are broadly two approaches. The conventional approach involves the use of continuous guidelines laid from a wreck reel, tied just outside the entrance point, just inside the entrance point, and at regular intervals inside (to mitigate the risk of a cut line, or a "line trap"). In deeper penetrations, two reels are used, so that in the event of a total loss of visibility where the diver loses contact with the primary line or the primary line gets cut, the secondary line can be anchored and then used as a reference point to sweep for the primary line. Procedures and techniques for navigation insude the wreck using a
guide line A distance line, penetration line, cave line or guide line is an item of diving equipment used by Scuba diving, scuba divers as a means of returning to a safe starting point in conditions of low visibility, water currents or where pilotage is di ...
are very much the same as in cave penetration. An alternative approach, popularised by deep wreck divers in the American Northeast, is referred to as "progressive penetration". Progressive penetration eschews the use of reels, but the diver makes several successive penetrations, each successively deeper than the last, memorising the layout for both the inward and outward journeys. The method is vulnerable to complete loss of visibility in a silt-out, and any disorientation in an unfamiliar area or due to nitrogen narcosis. As a diving technique, progressive penetration is not taught by any of the mainstream diver training agencies. Divers engaging in penetration diving are conventionally taught to carry three lights - a primary light and two backup lights - thereby virtually eliminating the risk of completely losing light inside the wreck. Nonetheless, total loss of visibility due to a
silt-out A silt out or silt-out is a situation when underwater visibility is rapidly reduced to functional zero by disturbing fine particulate deposits on the bottom or other solid surfaces. This can happen in scuba and surface supplied diving, or in ROV ...
remains a risk.


Deep wreck diving

Wrecks in shallower waters tend to deteriorate faster than wrecks in deeper water due to higher biological activity. Accordingly, many of the older and larger shipwrecks that tend to offer full penetration dives tend to be deeper dives. This can present additional complications; if a wreck dive is intended to be a decompression dive, then the diver will normally carry decompression gases in side-mounted cylinders. However, it is difficult to penetrate many wrecks with both back-mounted and side-mounted cylinders, requiring divers to either use a different configuration, or leave their decompression gases outside the wreck prior to penetration. This creates the possibility of a diver being unable to relocate their decompression gases if they exit the wreck at a different point from which they enter it.


Training

Because of the increasing popularity and higher risk of wreck diving, many diver training organizations such as
Scuba Diving International Scuba Diving International (SDI) is a Scuba diving, Scuba List of diver certification organizations, training and certification agency. It is the recreational diving, recreational arm of Technical Diving International, a Technical diving, technic ...
and the
Professional Association of Diving Instructors The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is a recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. Cronin was originally a NAUI instructor who decided to form his ...
provide specialist wreck
diver training Diver training is the set of processes through which a person learns the necessary and desirable skills to safely dive underwater within the scope of the diver training standard relevant to the specific training programme. Most diver training ...
courses, which divers are advised to take before wreck diving. Such courses typically teach skills such as air management and the proper use of guidelines and reels. Most recreational diving organizations teach divers only to penetrate to at most the limit of the "light zone" or a maximum aggregate surface distance (depth and penetration) of 100 feet. Other
technical diving Technical diving (also referred to as tec diving or tech diving) is scuba diving that exceeds the agency-specified limits of recreational diving Recreational diving or sport diving is diving for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment, usually ...
organizations, such as
IANTD #REDIRECT International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers The International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) is a scuba diving organization concerned with certification and training in recreational diving, technical ...
, TDI and
ANDI Andi or ANDI may refer to: People and fictional characters * Andy (given name), including people and fictional characters with the name Andi * Andi people, an ethnic group of Dagestan, Russia Places * Andi, Guizhou, a town in Jinsha County, Gu ...
teach advanced wreck courses that emphasize a higher level of training, experience and equipment and prepare divers for deeper levels of wreck penetration. The
Nautical Archaeology Society The Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) is a charity registered in England and WalesCharity Commission
...
in the UK, teaches awareness of underwater
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
issues as well as practical diver and
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
skills. In this context some research projects are investigating the potentialities offered by digital technologies to adopt virtual replicas of the underwater wrecksite for training purposes. Other organizations, such as the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC) deliberately create
artificial reefs An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many re ...
to provide features for divers to explore, as well as substrates for marine life to thrive upon.


Special wreck diving equipment

See also:
Diving equipment Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other purposes which is found ...
As long as wreck diving is not penetration diving, no special wreck diving equipment is required. Equipment requirements are therefore based on the situation outside the wreck. That is, if the wreck is at a depth that is classified as technical
deep diving Deep diving is underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the associated community. In some cases this is a prescribed limit established by an authority, while in others it is associated with a level of certification or training, an ...
, then the equipment requirements will be based on that. In the limited penetration diving zone, at least one diving reel and one primary light are recommended in addition to the standard equipment. An additional amount of breathing gas (OHE 1/3 safety rule) increases the required cylinder size. When it comes to full penetration diving, wreck diving equipment is mandatory. The most important components are a primary light, a secondary light and a positioning light. Also, a primary reel, a safety reel, and a jump/gap reel. Depending on the dive plan, double tanks are standard, even with stage bottles. A sport diving helmet is very useful protection. Protective gloves are used against sharp metal fragments. Also, all the equipment must be assembled compactly, so that no parts get stuck somewhere. For this purpose, rubber bands or fastening hooks are used.


Impact of recreational scuba diving on wrecks

The impact of recreational scuba diving on recreational dive values and the cultural heritage of shipwrecks has been found to comprise four basic types: *The removal of artifacts and associated disturbance to wreck sites, *Direct contact with wrecks and the benthic biota living on them by divers and their equipment, *Exhaled air bubbles trapped inside the wreckage, *Impact damage by anchors of dive boats, considered by some researchers to be the most damaging form of impact associated with recreational wreck diving.


Protection of wrecks

In many countries, wrecks are legally protected from unauthorized salvage or desecration. In the United Kingdom, three Acts protect wrecks: *
Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks. Section 1 of the act provides for wrecks to be designated because of historical, archaeological or ...
: certain designated, charted, historic or dangerous sites may not be dived without a license *
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
: all military aircraft and 16 designated ships are considered
war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...
s that can only be dived with a license. Other non-designated ships may be dived providing the divers do not enter, disturb or remove artifacts *
Merchant Shipping Act 1995 The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom in 1995. It consolidated much of the UK's maritime legislation, repealing several Acts in their entirety and provisions in many more, some dating back to the mi ...
: all wrecks and cargoes are owned: each artifact removed must be reported to the
Receiver of Wreck The Receiver of Wreck is an official who administers law dealing with maritime wrecks and salvage in some countries having a British administrative heritage. In the United Kingdom, the Receiver of Wreck is also appointed to retain the possession o ...
Wrecks that are protected are denoted as such on
nautical chart A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a sea area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land (topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coa ...
s (such as
admiralty chart Admiralty charts are nautical charts issued by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) and subject to Crown Copyright. Over 3,500 Standard Nautical Charts (SNCs) and 14,000 Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) are available with the Admira ...
s); any diving restrictions should be adhered to. Historic wrecks (often but not always defined as being more than 50 years of age) are often protected from pillaging and looting through national laws protecting cultural heritage. Internationally they may be protected by a State ratifying the
Unesco Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage The Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage is a treaty that was adopted on 2 November 2001 by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).UNESC"2001 Convention o ...
. In this case pillaging is not allowed. One such example is the ''
Queen Anne's Revenge ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. Although the date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, it was originally believed ...
'' which is undergoing archaeological recovery by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NC DNCR) near Beaufort Inlet, NC. In 2003 the Greek Ministry of Culture, issued a Ministerial Order classifying "any wreck of ship or aeroplane, sunk for longer than 50 years from the present" as Cultural Assets / Monuments, with a protection zone of 300 meters around them. Terms and conditions for visiting any monument in Greece are set by the Ministry of Culture. In South African waters, the wrecks of ships or aircraft, and any associated cargo, debris or artifact more than 60 years old and are protected by the National Heritage Resources Act number 25 of 1999 (NHRA). The law of salvage and finds does not apply to historical shipwrecks, which are considered by the NHRA to be archaeological material, and as such are the property of the state, administered by SAHRA in trust for the nation, and may not be disturbed in any way except under the terms of a permit issued by the
South African Heritage Resources Agency The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) is the national administrative body responsible for the protection of South Africa's cultural heritage. It was established through the ''National Heritage Resources Act, number 25 of 1999'' and ...
(SAHRA). There are severe penalties for contravening the Act, including heavy fines and jail terms. All members of the South African Police Services, and Customs and Excise officers may act as Heritage Inspectors in terms of the Act, with powers of search, confiscation and arrest. Historical wrecks may be visited provided that the sites are not disturbed or interfered with and no artifacts are removed or damaged.


Wreck diving sites

There are thousands of popular wreck diving sites throughout the world. Some of these are artificial wrecks or sunk deliberately to attract divers (such as and in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, in
Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...
, and the wrecks of
Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...
in
Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...
/
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
which include artificial and disaster wrecks). Diver trails, also called wreck trails, can be used to allow scuba-divers to visit and understand archaeological sites that are suitable for scuba-diving. One excellent example is the
Florida Public Archaeology Network The Florida Public Archaeology Network, or FPAN, is a state supported organization of regional centers dedicated to public outreach and assisting Florida municipalities and the Florida Division of Historical Resources "to promote the stewardship ...
's (FPAN) "Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail." Along the
Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...
, navigational challenges posed by the
Diamond Shoals The Diamond Shoals are an infamous, always-shifting cluster of shallow, underwater sandbars that extend out from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States. Hidden beneath the waves and constantly changing in both form and depth, the shoals are ...
area off
Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape ...
, caused the loss of thousands of ships and an unknown number of human lives. More than 5000 ships have sunk in these waters since record keeping began in 1526. Among the better known
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
s was , a participant in the
Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads, also referred to as the Battle of the ''Monitor'' and ''Virginia'' (rebuilt and renamed from the USS ''Merrimack'') or the Battle of Ironclads, was a naval battle during the American Civil War. It was fought over t ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. ''Monitor'' foundered on 31 December 1862 off
Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape ...
. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
German
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s would lie offshore and silhouette passing freighters and tankers against the lights onshore. Dozens of ships along the North Carolina coast were torpedoed in this fashion by German submarines in what became known as
Torpedo Alley The Torpedo Alley, or Torpedo Junction, off North Carolina, is one of the graveyards of the Atlantic Ocean, named for the high number of attacks on Allied shipping by German U-boats in World War II. Almost 400 ships were sunk, mostly during t ...
. Popular wrecks include the , USS ''Monitor'', (), , , , and . Others are wrecks of vessels lost in disasters (such as in the
British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...
, in
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and the many shipwrecks off the Isles of Scilly in England). In the
Marlborough Sounds The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels. According to Māori m ...
, New Zealand, the wreck of , a cruise liner which was lost in 1986, is a popular dive site. Lying at underwater, this wreck is an excellent base for recreational and technical divers. More unusual are wrecks of structures, such as the wreck of the old cruise ship pier in
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...
, destroyed by
Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peop ...
in 1989. As part of the recovery and replacement of the
Frederiksted Pier The Frederiksted Pier (officially named: Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility) is the 1,526-foot (0.465 km or 0.29 mile), deep water, cruise ship pier located in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is located at the west end of Saint Croix, U ...
, the old pier was to be removed and sunk far out at sea in deep waters. Much of the old pier was used to create an artificial reef. Several barges carried the wreckage down the beach, and dumped the wreckage of steel girders, vehicles, concrete tubes, pylons, and pavement into deep waters to create a dive site now known as Armageddon. A number of wreck diving sites are ships lost to wartime hostilities, such as in the Red Sea, the wrecks of
Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
and Coron in the Philippines, in
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
and the "ghost fleet" of
Truk Lagoon Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbou ...
. In the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
, the Inket Wreck, where a Japanese ship sank during World War II is a dive site near Duncan Island. Some regions are particularly noted for the number and quality of wreck dive sites, such as
Truk Lagoon Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbou ...
in
Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
,
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
in
Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, the
Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...
of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, known as the "
Graveyard of the Atlantic Graveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname for the treacherous waters and area of numerous shipwrecks off the Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and ...
", and the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. For technical divers there are a few wrecks that have attracted widespread popularity. For years SS ''Andrea Doria'' was regarded as the pinnacle of challenges to the wreck diver, but, since the popularisation of trimix as a breathing gas, technical divers now dive deeper and more challenging wrecks, and ''Andrea Doria'' is now considered by some to be a good training wreck for trimix divers.


In popular culture

Wreck diving is featured in the
Uncharted ''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across the wo ...
video game series.


History

*Connections with
marine salvage Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from ...
and
underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...


See also

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links


WRECKSITE
Worldwide free database of + 65.000 wrecks with history, maritime charts and GPS positions
Sea Research SocietyDangers of Wreck DivingWreck Diving in the Graveyard of the Atlantic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wreck Diving Recreational diving Shipwrecks Underwater archaeology ja:洞窟潜水