Crozon Peninsula & the Iroise Marine Park · France · Wreck
Swansea wreck
A First World War cargo ship with its propeller and rudder still in place
The Swansea Vale is a British cargo ship lost off Camaret-sur-Mer at the western tip of the Crozon peninsula in the last months of the First World War. Divers prize it because the hull still shows every part of a cargo ship, propeller and rudder included, and fish crowd around it.
Also known as Swansea Vale, Swansea.
Where it is and how deep
48.3031° N, 4.6437° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The cargo ship sank in one piece and lies at 25 m. The usual route runs from the boiler along the hull to the stern, where the propeller and rudder sit, and then back the same way to the boiler. A large school of pouting with a few pollack among them hangs around the wreck, large spider crabs walk along the hull, and white and yellow gorgonians decorate it.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Swansea Vale
- Type
- Steam cargo ship
- Length
- 80 m (262 ft)
- Built
- 1909
- Sunk
- 1918
- Cause
- Struck the Trépied rocks west of the Pointe du Toulinguet, by the usual account in fog; others blame a submarine
- Lies
- At 25 m off Camaret-sur-Mer, halfway to Fort de Bertheaume, with propeller and rudder intact
The Swansea Vale was a British steam cargo ship launched in 1909. It went down off Camaret-sur-Mer, in Finistère, on 8 August 1918, towards the end of the First World War. The most widespread account is that it struck the rocks of the Trépied, between the Toulinguet lighthouse and the Parquette turret, in fog; others say a submarine sank it. The crew had time to abandon ship.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Crozon Peninsula & the Iroise Marine Park: Morgat dives from April to November and no month stands out; nothing says the boats run from December to March.
Dive videos
Plongée : épave du Swansea Vale (Brest-Bretagne-France) - Wreck Diving · Palmipedo007 on YouTube
Sources
- Swansea Vale — Wikipedia
- Exploration des fonds marins à Camaret-sur-Mer — VVA Natation
- Pointe du Toulinguet — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- A white lighthouse on a rocky headland above folded cliffs, with one white sailboat passing below by Pom' from France, European Union, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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