The wreck of an unidentified warship has been found!

Near Helsinki, in the waters of the Gulf of Finland, members of the Baltic exploration group “Badewanne” made an interesting discovery. At a depth of 60 m they discovered the wreck of an unidentified warship from the 18th century.

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The location of the wreck has been known since 2003, but until now it was thought to be the remains of a fishing or merchant vessel. After a closer look, the true nature of the vessel and its very good state of preservation came to light. It is well known that the Baltic Sea is exceptionally kind to wrecks lying at its bottom.

The divers from “Badewanne” have been collecting information and preparing their documentation on the mysterious vessel since mid-2004, and all their work has been carried out in cooperation with the Finnish National Centre for Research and Documentation of Monuments.

As for the wreck itself, thanks to the sensational conditions that prevail in the Baltic Sea (low salinity, low water temperature, lack of light), it was preserved almost in perfect condition. The deck of the ship, the deck with the cannons, the bell and many other elements of the ship are intact. The masts are broken, but most probably this happened during the sinking. Interestingly, the bowsprit remained undamaged in its place.

The ship had room for 12 guns, but only 6 of them are in place. It is not certain whether the vessel had more of them when it went to sea, or whether they were disposed of in an attempt to save the ship from sinking.

Apart from the cannons, however, nothing is missing. All around, we can find the remains of ropes, everyday objects, as well as a steering wheel. The hatches remain open, so that objects hidden in the darkness can be seen through them.

Despite the enormous amount of work, exploration and material collected, the history and name of the ship, to this day, remains an unsolved mystery. The bell, which is in place, could be the solution to this mystery if it were lifted, but the Finnish authorities have no plans to excavate it at the moment.

Jussi Kaasinen – a member of the ‘Badewanne’ group said: “We hope that our discovery will spread among maritime history people from Sweden, Russia, the UK and other nations manifesting their activities in the region about 200 years ago, so that one day we can finally solve the mysteries and know the name and history of the wreck. ”

As there is no information about the name and origin, a group of Finnish explorers, gave the unit the working name “Donald Duck”, because, as they said, its appearance resembles the units depicted in the cult comic strip.

For centuries the Baltic was the main trade route to Russia. The desire to rule the sea was the main cause of many armed conflicts. An unimaginable number of well-preserved wrecks lie at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, just waiting for their discoverers. This is what the members of “Badewanne” are coming from.

“We want to contribute to discovering, learning about and protecting these amazing traces of human activity in the area. We also believe it is our job to present to people what only a few can see with their own eyes.” – said Juha Flinkman

Source: www.badewanne.fi