Diving in Sweden

Diving in Sweden can be somewhat underestimated. The waters are very cold and dark, the bottom composition is often muddy and you will most likely need a drysuit in all seasons. Despite that, there are plenty of fantastic destinations and unique features such as the preservation of submerged objects. The low salinity of the Baltic Sea means the shipworms are absent and wooden hulls can last for centuries.

Destinations

Baltic sea

M/F Sappemeer

Understand

Sappemeer sank on 11 July 1969 due to rough sea conditions. She was taking in water too fast to be able to compensate and sank. She is now lying on her side at a depth of 25 m (82 ft) and it's possible to enter through the cargo area.

Position: — 59°6'5.94"N, 18°46'56.58"E

Depth: — 25 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Boat dive —

S/S Najade

Understand

S/S Najade sank an early morning on 12 April 1933 in the Baltic sea. The freighter hit some shallow rocks and cracked a hole in the hull. These waters, between Sweden and Finland, are well known for having many shallow parts. The archipelago of Stockholm is actually almost stretching all the way over to Finland.

The ship is very well preserved and standing perfectly straight (as if it was sailing on the bottom). The cargo area is invitingly big and empty, filled only with a thick and heavy yellow color; as if the oranges and tobacco that were in the cargo had been dissolved and still hanging in like ghosts.

It is amazing to see this ship appear out of nowhere when you descend. The visibility is very limited until you reach the thermocline. The ship is made of steel and reflects the torch lights well.

The wreck is within a seal reservation and is prohibited to visit between 1 February and 15 August (confirm?).

Position: — 59° 4' 50.04" N, 18° 48' 1.38" E

Depth: — 35 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Boat dive — The dive site is marked with a buoy that is attached to the wreck.

Björkvik

Understand

Björkvik is a very good dive site for beginners, training or less experienced divers.

Beware of the diving prohibition that is effective outside the far out edge of the dead end street (imagine a straight line to the south from that edge).

Position: — 59° 13' 12.12" N, 18° 32' 18.39" E

Depth: — 20 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Shore dive — The easiest way to get into the waters is from the beach. The shallow waters stretch quite far out and you might make it down to 20 meters if you are persistent. There is plenty of room for parking your car on close to the dive site. Although, you should be careful with getting in the way for the bus that ends it's route there and has to make a U-turn.

S/S Ingrid Horn

Understand

There is a tragic story behind the wreck of S/S Ingrid Horn. The 90-m German cargo ship was built in 1901. In July 31 in the summer of 1917 she was on route from Luleå to Germany with a cargo of iron ore on a quiet night when she was hit by another ship that too late realised that they were on collision course. It is said that the Ingrid Horn was sailing without the lanterns lit; it was in wartime and they wanted to save the precious kerosene. They probably thought that they would have time to light them up if another ship came into sight. Only one person survived out of about twenty people in the crew.

The Swedish cargo ship S/S Bergvik was entering Dalarö when the pilot noticed a white light, which he believed was a vessel at anchor. When Bergvik got closer they also saw a faint red glow. Eventually they realised that it must be a ship under way and there was a risk of collision. The captain ordered full astern, but it was too late. and Bergvik's bow penetrated three feet into the side of Ingrid Horn, which sank fast. S/S Bergvik managed to get loose and survived the collision

The wreck is now a popular attraction for divers. Note that it is the middle of a shipping route, which requires a little extra focus on security and awareness.

Position: — 59° 6' 14.4" N. 18° 22' 30" E

Depth: — 24 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Boat dive — Descend at the buoy that marks the route and you will find a rope that leads you down to the stern of S/S Ingrid Horn – in all her glory, still very preserved. On the port side there is a two-meter hole caused by the collision.

Nacka strandsvraket

Understand

The wreck at Nacka Strand lies in a dark and muddy place. You reach it by entering the water from the pier, swim on the surface to the left corner of the bay and descend there. You will land at about seven meters depth where you will find some large pipelines. Follow them out until you find a string tied to them, leading you 90 degrees out to the wreck.

Position: — 59° 18' 56.7" N, 18° 8' 58.66" E

Depth: — 20 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Shore dive — You should be aware that it is a long way to walk from the parking area down to the water. Very long. One option is to bring everything down to the pier and gear up there, but you will need someone to watch your bags left on the pier. The other option is that you gear up as much as possible at your car and walk all the way down. This can be a sweaty maneuver in the wrong season though.

M/S Harm (Naantali)

Understand

M/S Harm, a.k.a. Naantali, was a Finnish cargo ship that sunk in 1969 after a collision with another ship. She was hit on port side and sunk quickly due to severe damages to the hull. Everyone except one of the crew members managed to save themselves before she sunk.

That is long time ago and now the spot is serving as a dive site. It is a relatively easy dive, although one should be careful since it is close to a shipping route.

Position: — 59° 24' 51.03" N, 18° 30' 30.09" E

Depth: — 20 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Topography: — Wreck

Conditions: — Fresh water

Get in

Shore dive —

Tore (the wreck in Alvik)

Understand

The wreck in Alvik is also known as Tore. It is a small fishing boat that sunk in the 1990s. The wreck is standing up straight on the bottom.

Position: — 59° 19' 53.63" N, 17° 59' 24.64" E

Depth: — 12 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Shore dive — You can enter the waters directly from the docks and then you just have to follow the rope that you will find attached directly below. The other end of the rope is tied to the wreck. From the wreck you will also find another rope that leads further to a sunken sail boat.

Stay safe

You have to be very careful when you dive here, since it is very close to a marina.

Stockholm

The Brothel

Understand

No, it is not a joke. This is in fact the name of a dive site in the inner city of Stockholm, named after the boat that sunk some time in the 1980s. This was a place for illegal gambling and other shady activities at that time. It all ended in a not too clear way. Maybe there was not too much interests in finding out what really happened. It came to an end and that was it.

Inner city areas are always interesting since there will most likely be plenty of interesting and misplaced objects to be found on the bottom (junk, cellphones, bicycles and sometimes cars).

Position:— 59° 19' 16.53" N, 18° 2' 52.51" E

Depth: 10 m

Altitude: Sea level

Get in

Shore dive —

Stay safe

The boat is now serving a much better purpose... although still managing to be in conflict with the law; since it is a dive site in harbor area you are not allowed to dive here. You can still access it with proper permission from authorities and a little effort.

Falken

Understand

Falken is the name of an old Waxholm boat that was carrying empty fishing boxes from Gothenburg before it sank in January 1968 due to a leak.

Position: 59° 19' 41.91" N, 18° 0' 0.17" E

Depth: 15 m

Altitude: Sea level

Get in

Shore dive — The easiest way to find it is to swim on the surface to the cable sign (Swedish: Kabel), descend and follow the white cable pipe that is parallel with two other gray pipes. Go about 50 m and then you will find a string attached to the pipe, leading down to the wreck.

The Tavern Wreck (Värdshusvraket)

Understand

The Tavern Wreck (Värdshusvraket in Swedish) is a very well preserved wreck that is located between Stora Essingen and Gröndal (no information on why and how the ship sunk).

Position: — 59° 18' 58.08" N, 17° 59' 4.55" E

Depth: — 16 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Topography: — Wreck

Conditions: — Fresh water

Get in

Inner city Shore dive — The easiest way to access the dive site is to enter from Stora Essingen. Park your car at Värdshusbryggan (where there is plenty of space for parking and gearing up). Later you just follow the line that is attached to one of the poles of the bridge.

Stay safe

It is an easy dive, but still not recommended for inexperienced divers since it is in the middle of a shipping route and the water is fairly shallow.

Vagnhärad limestone quarry

In Trosa municipality.

Understand

Artificial, Fresh water

The dive site is an old abandoned limestone quarry that is now filled with water. The area is very small and looks like a little pond. Although... a very deep pond. It is not 100% clear how deep the hole is since the bottom part consists of cold black mud.

The dive site is often used for beginner courses, deep dive training (for advanced courses) and ice dives in winter time.

The visibility is as good as it ever gets in Swedish waters and there are plenty of fun things to find under water.

The place is also popular for apnea divers in summer time

Position: — 58° 57' 7.06" N, 17° 28' 6.01" E

Depth: — 45 m

Altitude: Sea level?

Topography: — There are a number of ledges around the edges, where the far side of the quarry is very shallow and well suited for beginner courses.

Get in

Shore dive — You can access the site with car and drive all the way down to the water edge, where there is parking space for plenty of cars. Beware that the dive site is often crowded on weekends.

See

Aquatic life and features: — At one of the plateaus there is a "bathroom" with a submerged sink, toilet and a large mirror. It worth mentioning how weird it is to see yourself hovering in a completely black surrounding.

Stay safe

Hazards: — Beware of the caves! Do not try to enter them without proper equipment, training and reasons! An unconfirmed story tells about a diver that got lost and drowned within them. In winter the surface may be frozen and Ice may prevent access to the air.

Skills: — Skills and qualifications should suit the planned dive profile. This may include Ice diving and Cave diving, which are specialties requiring specific advanced training and equipment.

Equipment: — Equipment should suit the planned dive. If you do not know exactly what is required for ice or cave dives, don't try it

Other

Umeälven (Tegsbron)

Understand

Drift dive, Fresh water (River), Inner city

This dive site is similar to the upstream dive in Umeälven, except for this entry point is better when the current is not as strong as in spring time.

Position: —

Depth: —

Get in

Shore dive — There are plenty of exit points along the way. It is recommended that you choose a place a little bit outside of the city center, such as the design university (with plenty of parking space).

See

Aquatic life and features: — The aquatic life in the river is second to none, although there are plenty of other interesting things to see and do. You will find a rich variety of items that has been thrown from the bridges or dropped from any of the restaurant boats that are permanently parked along the way. With a little bit of luck you will find a bicycle every once in a while.

Stay safe

Hazards: — No site-specific hazards reported

Skills: — No special skills recommended

Equipment: — No special equipment recommended

Umeälven

Understand

Drift dive, Fresh water (River), Inner city

Diving the "Umeå River" is best in the spring, when all the melted snow from the inland is raising the water level and strength of the current. You will have a long free ride all the way down to the city within 30-40 minutes.

Position: — 63° 49' 40.69" N, 20° 13' 25.11" E

Depth: — 8 m

Altitude: — Sea level

Get in

Shore dive — It is recommended that you go by two cars. One car at the exit point and one car at the entry point.

See

Aquatic life: —

Stay safe

Hazards: — No site-specific hazards reported

Skills: — No special skills recommended

Equipment: — No special equipment recommended

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