Reply from the Maritime Authority on the opening of "Franekna"

The Maritime Office in Gdynia has officially responded to the petition filed by the Baltictech Association, in which it was requested that the wreck of the “Franken” oil tanker be re-opened for divers. Unfortunately, as we wrote in late November, the situation will not change in the nearest future and the wreck will remain excluded from the list of vessels available for diving.

On 3 September 2019, representatives of the Baltictech diving group submitted a petition to the Maritime Office in Gdynia, which was signed by more than 700 people. The aim of the action was one – to restore the wreck of the German tanker “Franken” to the list of vessels available for divers. Today, the Baltictech team has announced that they have received an official reply, which you can read here.

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In a nutshell, the answer comes down to what we reported on in our pages on 27 NovemberAfter several telephone conversations with a representative of the Maritime Office in Gdynia, “Franken” will remain off the list until inspected by Polish Navy divers.

When will this inspection take place? This is not known. When monitoring the matter last year, we were informed that a meeting between the Maritime Authority and the Navy was scheduled for October. Unfortunately, during a subsequent conversation, we were told that the meeting had been postponed. To when? Well, that’s when.

Due to the potential danger posed by the wreck of an armed tanker (fuel and lying ammunition), it seems that nobody wants to take responsibility for the decision to reopen the “Franken”. Therefore, one of the most attractive wrecks for technical divers, is the proverbial “hot potato” and will be passed from hand to hand for some time yet.

The fight for “Franken” continues and there is no need to lose hope. The fact that the list of wrecks available for divers, mentioned several times, is constantly growing, is a consolation. It is undoubtedly thanks to the Baltictech team. It is thanks to their efforts that from 15 November 2019 such wrecks as “Georg Buchner”, U-272 the so-called shallow U-boat near Hel, “Little Stuttgart” – a small vessel sunk near Gdynia, the aircraft carrier “Graff Zeppelin”, “Muhlhausen” the so-called barrel ship and the cutter “Tupolew” can be the target of diving expeditions.

We invite you to read the following interview with Tomasz Stachura, who introduces the topic of opening Baltic wrecks, and also to follow official profile group and support their activities.

Source: Baltictech
Photo: Michal Procajło