A cluster of flat-bottomed landing barges lost off Seddülbahir during the landings of 25 April 1915, when they were moving soldiers, supplies and material for the piers. They lie on sand in 23 to 25 metres off Cape Helles: small hulls of 18 to 23.5 metres, with chain and a boiler still recognisable among them.
Where it is and how deep
40.0447° N, 26.1889° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is a dive on the working end of an amphibious landing rather than on a single ship. The barges — large, flat-bottomed craft used to carry soldiers, supplies and the material for pier construction — went down off Seddülbahir on 25 April 1915, the first day of the Cape Helles landings, and now lie on sand. The dive centre's table gives 23 metres, the park's own page 25, and dive reports 24 to 25, so the plan is built for the deeper end.
The hulls are small, from 18 by 5.8 metres up to 23.5 by 6.6, so the guide moves between them rather than around one wreck, and what registers are the details: lengths of chain across the sand and a boiler still standing among the flat plating. At this depth the no-stop clock is the limit rather than the gas supply. Nothing is lifted: the park's rules prohibit removing anything from a wreck, and every dive here is guided.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Helles Barges
- Type
- Landing barges
- Length
- 23.5 m (77 ft)
- Sunk
- 1915
- Cause
- Sunk during the landings at Seddülbahir on 25 April 1915
- Lies
- Several small hulls on sand off Cape Helles; chain and a boiler visible
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Gallipoli: April–May and August–September bring the best conditions; the wrecks can be dived all year.
Dive videos
Helles Barges · Gallipoli Wrecks Dive Centre on YouTube
We Dived the Helles Barges | Gallipoli's Forgotten WWI Landing Craft · Discover Underwater on YouTube
Helles Barges · Çanakkale Byemdive Dalış Merkezi on YouTube
Sources
- Gallipoli Wrecks dive site table — Gallipoli Wrecks
- East Cheshire Sub-Aqua Club Gallipoli trip report — ECSAC
- Dardanelli, guida ai relitti della Prima Guerra Mondiale — Scubaportal
- Deep Heritage: cathodic protection for Dardanelles wrecks — Western Front Association
- Helles Barges — Gallipoli Historic Site Directorate (divinggelibolu.com)
More dive sites in Gallipoli
Wreck
A battleship lost on 18 March 1915, upside down at 68 m
A 1915 British submarine in 8 m off Kepez Point
A mined 1898 battleship at 65 m, technical divers only
Four Yarrow boilers standing in 13 m of Suvla Bay sand
An 1895 battleship lying upside down and largely intact in 23 m
A 1903 battleship at 73 m, torpedoed off Gaba Tepe by U-21
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The park's most intact wreck: a 1908 minesweeper in 27 m
Wreck
A French battleship scuttled as a breakwater, in 5–7 m at V Beach
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