Swedes illegally dived on Steuben

Polish border guards have detained a group of Swedish divers who were conducting illegal diving on the wreck of the German vessel Steuben. The wreck, considered to be a war grave, is covered by a total diving ban.

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The crew of the helicopter “Anakonda”, belonging to the Polish Border Guard, during a patrol flight to protect the country’s maritime border, became interested in a Swedish vessel anchored near the resting place of a German steamer. The commanding officer of the helicopter crew reported a possible breach of Polish maritime regulations by the Swedish yacht. Due to such a situation, SG-216 unit, which apart from the crew members included an inspector from the Maritime Office in Słupsk, set off from the port in Kołobrzeg.

Upon arriving at the scene, the Polish border guards found the yacht empty, as the entire crew of five was under water. The entire incident was recorded on video, which will be included in documentation describing the event.

As it turned out, the Swedish divers had permanently anchored to the wreck and it was only possible to unanchor the yacht the following day when visibility was good.

The Deputy Director of the Słupsk City Hall gave the Swedes permission to remain in position until 8.00am the following morning.

After completing operational activities and collecting evidence, the border guards completed their inspection. The captain of the Scandinavian vessel was ordered to stop diving and leave the site by 8.00 a.m., 3 September.

As it turned out during the inspection, the crew did not have any vessel documents (including safety card and logbook). According to the captain’s explanation, in Sweden there is no obligation to register vessels not exceeding 12m in length. In addition, the yacht did not have the required markings, and the crew did not have permission to dive.

Due to the violation of the Act on maritime areas of the Republic of Poland and maritime administration and Order No. 1 of the Director of the Maritime Office in Słupsk, further proceedings in this case were taken over by the Maritime Office in Słupsk.

On board the steamer Steuben, which took part in Operation Hannibal, consisting in the evacuation of the German population from East Prussia and occupied Poland, on 10 February 1945, about 5,000 people were killed by torpedoes from a Soviet submarine. As part of the same evacuation operation, the Bolsheviks sunk units Wilhelm Gustloff and Goia. These three events are considered the greatest maritime tragedies in history. In total, some 20,000 people lost their lives on board these ships. By comparison, the most famous shipwreck, the RMS Titanic, claimed 1,500 lives.

Source: morski.strazgraniczna.pl