Belgian North Sea · Belgium · Wreck
Pepinella
An intact Sunderland-built steamship sitting upright and covered in anemones
The Pepinella is a 1557-ton steamship built in Sunderland in 1928 that sank after a collision in 1958, about halfway between Kent and Belgium. It lies upright and as intact as a wreck can be in 30 m. Divers come for an unbroken steamship whose hull is covered in plumose anemones and circled by shoals of bib.
Also known as The Pepinella.
Where it is and how deep
51.4057° N, 2.2512° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The shotline is hooked over the boat deck, and the highest point of the wreck is the roof of the captain's cabin, as shallow as 22 m on a low-water slack and 5 m deeper on high water. From there the hull runs upright and intact down to the seabed at 30 m, with holds, masts, winches, boilers and engine laid out in the usual pattern of a British-built steamer.
Big shoals of bib swarm around the wreck, pollack hang off both bow and stern, and conger eels fill most suitable holes, while plumose anemones coat the hull. Visibility is usually much better on neap tides and on the high slack. On a low-water slack the building current, rather than gas or decompression, can decide when the dive ends.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Pepinella (built as Cedartree)
- Type
- Steamship, 1557 tons
- Built
- 1928
- Sunk
- 1958
- Cause
- Collided with the Sundak on her maiden voyage for new Italian owners
- Lies
- Upright and intact in 30 m, about halfway between Kent and Belgium, in French waters
The ship was built by J Crown & Sons in Sunderland in 1928 as the Cedartree and later carried the names Blue Bell and Silver Bell. Ownership then moved to Italy and she became the Pepinella, an unlucky name: on her maiden voyage for the new owners she collided with the Sundak and sank on 20 April 1958.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Belgian North Sea: Weekend day boats run from the third weekend of May to the third weekend of October; no month stands out, and August has the warmest water.
Know before you go
- On a low-water slack the current builds quickly and can cut short the time on the wreck.
- The wreck lies in French waters, where French wreck law forbids taking anything from it.
Dive videos
gue be techtrip pepinella · Peter Zaat on YouTube
Sources
- In Belgium, but no waffle — Divernet
- Wreck Tour 148: The Pepinella — Divernet
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