An Introduction to Wreck Diving

Page 2 of 4

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Hidden dangers
• 3. Forbidden wrecks
• 4. Find out more
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Hidden dangers

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.

'They should be wary too of their depth when exploring the ship. '

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.

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