Shipwreck from the 17th century found near Öland.

Near Öland, a team of Swedish technical divers found and identified the wreck of the 17th century vessel Svardet. It was one of the largest ships of the line of its era, built with great attention to detail and ornamentation, which was new at the time. Apparently its very appearance was supposed to deter enemy vessels.

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The Sword, as this is the translated name of the wreck, was 50m long and was equipped with 86 cannons, which resulted from the new tactics of conducting battles at sea, introduced by the Swedes at that time. It sank on 1 June 1676, during a naval clash in the war with the combined Danish-Dutch forces.

The Svardet was one of the two largest ships the Swedish crown lost during the largest naval battle in the Baltic. As a result of her sinking, 600 sailors lost their lives because, after being set on fire by a Dutch vessel, her captain, Claes Uggla, chose death rather than surrender and lose the ship to the enemy.

The second ship mentioned was the Kronan, found in 1981. Kronan. It was on board this ship that a mass of valuable artefacts was found (about 30,000 in total!), which can be admired today in the museum in Kalmar.

The wreck was located by Deep Sea Productions, a company which deals with wreck exploration on a daily basis. Its representatives informed about the approximate location of the wreck and the depth at which it rests – 70m.

“The wreck is located on the border of Swedish territorial waters, but we do not intend to give the exact location for now,” – Malcolm Dixelius of DS Productions said.

After initial reconnaissance, researchers reported that the wreck is in excellent condition, but its resting place makes exploration very difficult.

Shortly after the announcement of the find, there were various speculations that the vessel might have been carrying valuable cargo. This would explain the fact that the discoverers do not want to reveal the exact location of their find, which is required by law in the country of the three crowns. This situation prompted the department responsible for the protection of national heritage to report the whole incident to the police. Carl Douglas, who leads the group of explorers, explains that they are keeping the position of the Svardet a closely guarded secret, as there is no way at the moment to protect the wreck from underwater thieves.

Source: deepsea.se