Hundreds of wrecks, stone and metal anchors,
cannons, amphorae and many other traces
from all navigational periods of human history,
many still waiting to be discovered,
are strewn along the North Bulgarian Black Sea Coast
Summer 2006 is the fifth season we offer our most successful special Program for wreck diving. It combines two main themes: Black Sea Navigation Heritage and World War II Battleships.
Black Sea Navigation Heritage
17th -18th century wooden sailing battleship - 4-5m depth, nice spot for underwater photography.
.
"Mopang" - metal ship, 50 m length, 33 m depth, main deck 5-6 m above the bottom, well preserved, divers can penetrate into it.
A group of metal wrecks at 12m depth, nice spot for underwater photography.
Scattered fragments of two or probably three wooden sailing battleships of different epochs, 4-9m depth.
Metal cargo steamer of an unknown origin - 7-12m depth, nice spot for underwater photography.
Kostas - Greek cargo ship, 7 - 12m depth, divers can penetrate into it.
Tanker Pelesh at 18m depth - very well preserved, divers can penetrate into it.
Metal cargo ship at 45m depth - very well preserved, divers can penetrate into it.
World War II Battleships
Russian WW II submarine type ST- 24 m depth, covered with mussels.
WW II minelayer "Karol": 18m depth, hit one of its own mines and sank, well preserved, covered with mussels, main deck 4 -5 m above the bottom, divers can penetrate into it.
Russian WW II submarine type ST- 33 m depth, very well preserved, covered with mussels.
A group of 2 WW II German torpedos-boats- 18m depth, well preserved, covered with mussels.
WW II German battle ship- 18m depth, unsuccessful attempt to be recovered was made in 1947.
ÍWW II German torpedo-boat- 20m depth, covered with mussels.
WW II German landing craft ship- 18m depth, covered with mussels.
WW II Russian submarine, still not visited by divers, at 60m depth.
You can download a short film about this submarine from our web site
WW II Russian submarine type ST, still not visited by divers, at 59m depth.see picture 2 »
The underwater and land archaeological excavations along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast showed that the region has been inhabited since the middle of the Stone Age (5500-5300 BC). A lot of different cultures, tribes, ethnic groups, peoples and states have developed in this part of Southeast Europe for more than seven millennia. The results from combined underwater and ground archaeological excavations come to explain a range of problems concerning the most ancient navigational periods of human history and even go back to the Great Flood and Noah's Ark, the Thracian past, the periods of Greece and Rome and the creation of the Bulgarian State. The most recent expedition, carried out by Professor Ballard's team and a group of scientists from the Bulgarian Institute of Oceanology in August 2002, has come up with amazing results, discovering one of the oldest and best preserved wooden ships carrying a cargo of amphorae along with other things.
Soon you will be able to see a film about this unique underwater expedition!
These intensive and dramatic historical periods have left us a heritage of numerous underwater archaeological traces - stone and metal anchors, amphorae, unique architecture, precious finds, burial constructions and cemeteries, sunken sea ports and wrecks ….
Diving Survey and Identification of a Shipwreck at 78m Depth « see »
One of the many important events, that took place during World War II along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, was the self-destruction of the German Black Sea Fleet. At that time it included some Italian, Romanian, Croatian and Hungarian battleships as well. At the beginning of 1944 their total number was 350, of which: battle cruiser - 1; destroyers - 4; minelayers - 3; torpedo-boats -28; submarines - 14; minesweepers - 31; landing crafts - 102 and many other servicing ships and boats. Part of them - 101, were sunken or abandoned by their crews along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and along with four Russian World War II submarines, sank in battles make wonderful wreck diving sites!
