Baltic Sea, Gdansk Bay, Scuba News, Underwater Archeology, Wrecks

Three wooden wrecks found in Gdansk Bay

The Baltic Sea has discovered another of its many secrets. This time it is three wooden wrecks from the seventeenth and seventeenth centuries. Employees of the Maritime Office in Gdynia and divers-archaeologists from the Polish Maritime Museum took it upon themselves to decipher this Baltic mystery, which surprised everyone. It turned out that during the

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: June 20, 2010 - 09:00

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 20:56

The Baltic Sea has discovered another of its many secrets. This time it is three wooden wrecks from the seventeenth and seventeenth centuries. Employees of the Maritime Office in Gdynia and divers-archaeologists from the Polish Maritime Museum took it upon themselves to decipher this Baltic mystery, which surprised everyone.

It turned out that during the standard procedure of measuring the seabed, a large anomaly was noticed. This deviation from the relatively flat profile drawn so far on the screen turned out to be the wrecks of two sailing ships and a flat-bottomed barge. According to experts, the vessels date back to the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Wreck of a sailing ship from the 17th century photo: Tomasz Stachura divers24.pl — Wreck of a wooden sailing ship from the 17th-18th century fot Tomasz Stachura

The discovery came as a huge surprise to everyone, as similar surveys are carried out in the area every year and so far no one has noticed anything unusual, and the wrecks have remained undiscovered. This time it was different.

The wreck of a flat-bottomed barge was found at a site about 350m from the waterfront in the centre of Gdynia. A survey was immediately organised, during which divers located and examined the find, and even managed to saw off a piece of the frame. This will allow expert examinations to be carried out to determine the exact age of the find.

Wreck of a wooden sailing ship Łeba photo: Tomasz Stachura divers24.pl — Finding the wrecks surprised everyone photo Tomasz Stachura

However, a much more surprising discovery than finding the barge, was locating the wrecks of two sailing ships, with a very well preserved piece of the side. They were located at a depth of 17 metres in the vicinity of Port Północny. Quite nearby there is also the wreck of another sailing ship, which is still waiting to be investigated. It may take several months to carry out all the necessary research that will tell more about the finds.

Most of the wrecks that have been found in the Baltic Sea are not suitable to be moved, let alone brought to the surface. Therefore, the Maritime Office has created a special list for divers with places where the more interesting wrecks are located. Thanks to this, all divers interested in them may visit the indicated exhibits in the underwater museum up close.

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.