Poland wants clarification from France on Gustloff diving

The Polish side intends to demand an explanation from the French embassy on the issue of illegal diving carried out on 5 June by the French army on the protected wreck of the liner “Wilhelm Gustloff”, rmf 24.pl reported today.

According to published information, the matter is to be clarified by the Polish Ministry of Maritime Economy through the French diplomatic mission. The French were caught red-handed by a patrol plane of the Maritime Office in Gdynia, which did not give permission for any diving on the protected wreck.

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The wreck of the German vessel “Wilhelm Gustloff” has had the status of a war grave for more than a quarter of a century and is covered by a total ban on diving. Unfortunately, as we have seen, the ban in this and many other cases is completely dead and ineffective.

The covered wrecks “Wilhelm Gustloff”, “Steuben” or “Goya”, are the site of illegal dives, carried out by divers from all over the world. What is more, as revealed by a legal dive and a report prepared by a group of Polish Baltictech divers (the situation was described in detail in the 9th issue of DIVERS24 magazine), the wreck of the “Steuben” was literally plundered and stripped of many artefacts.

Probably the situation on the remaining wrecks looks analogous. Therefore, the Baltictech group is conducting activities, in addition to preparing detailed documentation of the above mentioned vessels, to change the rules of surveillance and diving on them. As a result, establishing new rules would not only open up the possibility to dive on these wrecks, but also increase their protection and people’s awareness of what they are actually dealing with underwater.

Source: rmf24.pl
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