Øresund & Isefjord · Denmark · Wreck
Vapper
A fish factory trawler standing upright on the sand with an open wheelhouse
Vapper is a former fishing trawler, a fish factory ship, that stands upright on the sandy bottom at the southern end of the Øresund, where the strait opens into the Baltic. Its top lies at 6 m and the sand around it at 25 m, so most certified divers can reach the whole wreck. The hull is large enough for at least two dives in one day, from the open wheelhouse down to the propeller.
Where it is and how deep
55.2400° N, 12.8011° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The descent lands on the upper works at around 6 m. Large parts of the hull carry a layer of mussels, typical of the Baltic. The wheelhouse sits no deeper than about 10 m, and with its hatches and doors removed, daylight reaches inside; divers without wreck-penetration training can enter it and look around.
At the stern, the route goes over the edge of the aft chute and down to the sand, where the propeller stands clear of the bottom at 24 m. On a fair day the water gives something like 10 m of visibility, enough to see a good part of the hull at once.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Vapper
- Type
- Fishing trawler (fish factory)
- Built
- 1974
- Sunk
- 1994
- Cause
- The tow rope broke in severe weather while the ship was being towed to Dubai
- Lies
- Upright on sand in the Øresund, top at 6 m and bottom at 25 m
Vapper was built in Germany in 1974 and sailed for Estonia under the former Soviet regime. On 19 December 1994, while it was being towed towards its final port in Dubai, the tow rope broke in severe weather and the ship went down in the southern Øresund, in Swedish waters. Because of the danger of oil spills, diving on the wreck was banned from 1995 to 2000.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Øresund & Isefjord: Spring brings the best visibility on the Anemone Wreck, and September and October decent visibility and weather on Vapper; the Munkholm Bridge is dived through autumn and winter.
Dive videos
Scuba Diving - Dykning - Vapper [2021] · Anders Larsson dive video on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is wreck-penetration training needed to enter the Vapper wheelhouse?+
No. The wheelhouse lies no deeper than about 10 m, its hatches and doors are gone and daylight comes in, so divers without penetration training can enter it and look around.
Sources
- Denmark: Øresund and Isefjord — X-Ray Magazine
- Vapper — Dive Planner Pro
More dive sites in Øresund & Isefjord
Havheksen, an underwater course laid out for divers beside Copenhagen
Wall dives at Ablahamn and odd rock formations at Ransvik
Bridge piers crowded with sea urchins, plumose and dahlia anemones
Artificial reef
A stone reef built in 2016 that stays sheltered on windy days
Similar dives elsewhere
A 1939 mine casualty broken across a 30 m seabed
A cannon still on its wooden carriage aboard a frigate lost in 1678
Tiger Moth biplanes were in her holds when she went down
Wreck
Chadwick
Isle of Skye · United Kingdom
An upturned 1892 coal ship beneath the cliffs just north of Neist Point