Pattaya & the Sattahip Wrecks · Thailand · Wreck
SS Petchaburi (the Bremen)
An 88.5 m German-built hull in a channel that runs very strong
Area photo: Maturos thiangtong · CC BY-SA 4.0
German-built and 88.5 m long, the ship the Thais confiscated in 1917 and renamed Kaeo Samud lies in 19-24 m of channel water in the Sattahip islands. The channel makes for very strong currents, and that is what sets the dive up: you go when the water allows. The hull holds barracuda, moray eels and giant black stingrays.
Also known as Kaeo Samud, SS Petchaburi Bremen.
Where it is and how deep
12.6684° N, 100.8144° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Everything about this dive is decided by the water. The wreck sits in a channel, and the channel makes for very strong currents, so the trip is timed to what the tide is doing. Visibility is published at anywhere from 6 to 20 m, which means the hull either appears as a wall of steel a few metres in front of you or as a shape you can follow from one end to the other.
The ship is 88.5 m long and 11.9 m in the beam, and the dive site depth runs 19 to 24 m, so the hull is worked in passes rather than swum over whole. Marine life has taken the metal over: barracuda, moray eels, angelfish and tusk fish over the structure, and giant black stingrays on the sand around it. Stonefish are here too, which is reason enough to keep hands off.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Petchaburi (Kaeo Samud)
- Type
- German-built steamship
- Length
- 88.5 m (290 ft)
- Cause
- Not published; the dive-site record gives only that she sank on her final voyage
- Lies
- In a channel at 19-24 m; her attitude on the bottom is not published
She was built at the George Seebeck AG shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany, and divers still call her the Bremen. In 1917 she was confiscated by the Thais and renamed Kaeo Samud, and she is catalogued today as the SS Petchaburi. Neither the date nor the circumstances of her sinking are published on the dive-site record - only that she sank.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Prime | Fair | Good | Fair |
Season follows Pattaya & the Sattahip Wrecks: Gulf diving is best May-September and runs year-round; the wrecks are clearest November-March, though site charts drop to 1-2 m visibility in February, August, November and December.
Know before you go
- The channel makes for very strong currents: time the dive to the water, and carry an SMB and reel for a blue-water ascent.
- Stonefish are among the residents - do not put a hand or a knee down on the wreck or on the sand around it.
Questions divers ask
How strong is the current on the Bremen?+
The wreck sits in a channel that makes for very strong currents, so trips are timed to the water. With 19-24 m of depth and visibility of 6-20 m, it is an advanced dive.
Sources
- SS Petchaburi Bremen dive site — Scubago
- Pattaya — Wikivoyage
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