Klaipėda & Curonian Spit · Lithuania · Wreck
Anna Katrina Fritzen
A torpedoed steam freighter, pieced together from scattered wreckage
The Anna Katrina Fritzen is a steam cargo ship torpedoed by a Soviet submarine while sailing in a wartime convoy. Its broken wreck lies off the Curonian Spit between Klaipėda and Juodkrantė, and it was only named after divers modelled the scattered wreckage and measured the hull.
Also known as Anna Katrin Fritzen.
Where it is and how deep
55.6300° N, 21.0800° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The top of the wreck rises to about 18 m, and the seabed beside it lies at 22 to 24 m. The metal hull is badly broken up, possibly by an explosion, and the boiler lies several metres away from the rest of the ship. An anchor chain lies on the site, and a fishing net, with fish caught in it, has snagged on the wreck.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Anna Katrina Fritzen
- Type
- Steam cargo ship
- Cause
- Torpedoed in the stern by the Soviet submarine Shch-320 and sank quickly
- Lies
- Broken up between Klaipėda and Juodkrantė at 18–24 m
On 5 July 1942 the steamer was sailing south in a convoy of five ships when the Soviet submarine Shch-320 torpedoed it in the stern, and it sank quickly. Three survivors on the forecastle saved themselves; 10 sailors died. Divers at first took the scattered wreckage for at least two wrecks, until a photogrammetry model showed a single steamship, measured at 59 m from bow to stern, and archive research matched it to the Anna Katrin Fritzen of the Emden shipping company Fritzen Johs. & Sohn.
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 | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Klaipėda & Curonian Spit: July and August bring the warmest water; winter is the coldest stretch, with the sea averaging about 5 °C.
Know before you go
- A fishing net has snagged on the wreck.
Sources
- Wreck Anna Katrina Fritzen — Oktopusas D.C.
- Anna Katrin Fritzen — Dive3D.eu
More dive sites in Klaipėda & Curonian Spit
Wreck
The steamer that hit a mine racing to the sinking Friedrich Carl
Wreck
A large wartime transport sunk off Nemirseta, lying in shallow water
Wreck
A First World War warship with the Imperial Eagle plaque still on its bow
Wreck
A Maersk-built freighter whose bell carries another ship’s name
Wreck
A Type VIIC U-boat sunk in a training collision with its own target ship
Similar dives elsewhere
Boilers in 7 m on the rocks that took a 1907 steamer
Wreck
Anna Maria
Stockholm Archipelago & Dalarö · Sweden
An Amsterdam-built fluit that caught fire and sank at the Dalarö quay
A century-old cargo wreck open to French Level 1 divers
An old work boat with small sport boats around it