Hikkaduwa · Sri Lanka · Wreck
Conch Wreck
The huge oil tanks of an 1892 tanker, still lying where she sank
The Conch is the wreck of one of the world's first oil tankers, a steamship that sank off Akurala on Sri Lanka's southern coast in 1903. Parts of the hull lie scattered across the sea bed while the huge oil tanks remain where she went down, and a large grouper lives inside.
Also known as SS Conch, The Conch, Wreck Conch.
Where it is and how deep
6.1922° N, 80.0629° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck lies on her port side, with the dive running between 14 and 20 m and the deepest part of the hull at 21 m. Some sections are scattered across the sea bed, while others, including the huge oil tanks, stay where the ship sank. Cuttlefish and titan triggerfish work the wreckage, and a large grouper keeps to the inside of the hull.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Conch
- Type
- Steamship, oil tanker
- Built
- 1892
- Sunk
- 1903
- Cause
- Struck Akurata Rock on a voyage from Novorossiysk to Madras
- Lies
- On her port side at 21 m off Akurala, with the oil tanks where she sank
Built in 1892 by W. Gray & Co. for the Shell Transport & Trading Co., the 3,555-ton Conch was one of the first oil tankers. On 3 June 1903, on her voyage to Madras from Novorossiysk, she struck Akurata Rock off Ceylon and sank near Akurala, spilling her oil and becoming the island's first oil tanker wreck.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Prime | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Hikkaduwa: The west-coast season runs from October to April; from May to September the main centres dive from Trincomalee instead.
Dive videos
Dive at SS Conch Ship Wreck, Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka · Lagoon Reef on YouTube
Sources
- Dive Sites - International Diving School Sri Lanka — International Diving School
- SS Conch (+1903) — Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency
- OpenStreetMap: Akurala — OpenStreetMap
More dive sites in Hikkaduwa
Drift
Blue boxfish, morays and lobsters on a deep drift past the rock
Pinnacle
Mantas and whale sharks passing a soft-coral pinnacle in season
Cave & cavern
Caves set into the sea bed beside the Hikkaduwa coral reef
Similar dives elsewhere
A 1942 torpedo casualty, broken in two and dived from 5 m
Groupers in the engine room and morays all through the wreckage
A tanker sunk by six bombs the day the Hermes went down
Stern of a steel-hulled wreck for experienced divers