Åland Islands · Finland · Wreck

Plus

A Laeisz sailing ship from Blohm & Voss that sank within minutes in a storm

The Plus is a three-masted ship built in 1885 for the Laeisz shipping company at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg. It went down in only a few minutes on a stormy night in 1933 near Hertonklobben, southwest of Mariehamn.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

60.0431° N, 19.8970° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The Plus lies near Hertonklobben at 25–37 m. Its three masts were blown off several metres above deck level as a hazard to navigation, yet much of the rigging is still in place along the deck. Timber is everywhere: some planks still show their dovetail joints, and tools remain in the workshop. At the bow, the figurehead is a fiddle-head scroll.

The wreck

Vessel: Plus
Type: Iron-hulled three-masted barque
Built: 1885
Sunk: 1933
Cause: Sank in a few minutes on a stormy night
Lies: On the seabed near Hertonklobben, southwest of Mariehamn, at 25–37 m

The Plus was sailing from London to Mariehamn to lie up for the winter. With no pilots available, the master took the ship in unaided; in the storm and poor visibility it lost sight of the lights, ran onto Tvibenansgrund and tore open its bottom. It sank 100 m from land, and of the 16 crew only 4 survived.