Pulau Weh · Indonesia · Wreck
Sophie Rickmers
Wheelhouse at 37 m, bow on the bottom past 55 m
Area photo: Pavel Kirillov · CC BY-SA 2.0
A 134-metre German cargo steamship scuttled by her own crew in 1940 and lying in the sheltered bay of Pria Laot, covered in coral and dived as one continuous structure. The wheelhouse is at 37 metres, the decks at around 45 and the straight bow rests on the bottom at over 55, so it runs as a staged decompression dive for experienced deep divers only.
Also known as Sophie Rickmers Wreck, SS Sophie Rickmers.
Where it is and how deep
5.8354° N, 95.3010° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The descent follows the mooring line, with schools of batfish alongside on the way down and again on the way up. The wheelhouse comes first at 37 metres; below it the decks run at around 45 metres, and the straight bow lies on the bottom at over 55 metres. Lumba Lumba organises the whole thing as a special decompression dive for experienced deep divers only, with a preparation dive part of the program.
The hull is covered in coral rather than bare steel and holds a resident cast: a giant grouper, giant morays and giant trevallies. A school of unicorn filefish often swims past at depth, which is exactly when narcosis makes it hardest to work out what you are looking at. The fish worth remembering to look for is the black-spot angelfish, usually rare because it prefers deeper water and fairly abundant on this wreck.
This is not a dive you turn up and do. Lumba Lumba runs it as a special decompression dive for experienced deep divers only, with a preparation dive built into the program and technical dives with gas switches available on request. The ascent goes back up the mooring line with the stops the profile demands, batfish included.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Sophie Rickmers
- Type
- Cargo steamship
- Length
- 134 m (440 ft)
- Built
- 1920
- Sunk
- 1940
- Cause
- Scuttled by her own crew to avoid capture
- Lies
- In the sheltered bay of Pria Laot, wheelhouse at 37 m, decks at 45 m, bow on the bottom past 55 m
Sophie Rickmers was built in Germany in 1920 as a cargo steam ship. During the Second World War she was one of five ships confiscated by the British on 1 May 1940 in the waters around Pulau Weh, and her crew sank her the same day. Wikipedia's list of May 1940 shipwrecks tells it differently: it dates the scuttling to 10 May at Sabang, to avoid capture by Dutch forces, and states that she was declared a total loss but then raised, repaired and put into Dutch service as Toendjoek. The two accounts have not been reconciled.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Pulau Weh: Oct–Apr is the settled season with the clearest water; June to September brings wind and swell that close the exposed pinnacles.
Know before you go
- The profile is a decompression dive from the first minute: the wheelhouse is at 37 metres and the decks at 45, so gas planning and stops are not optional.
- Narcosis is a real factor at deck level; the operator offers technical dives with gas switches on request for divers who want to cut it.
Dive videos
Sophie Rickmers Wreck, Pulau Weh, Aceh, Indonesia · Seanic Pictures on YouTube
Sophie Rickmers Wreck - Pulau Weh · Teik Mun Ooi on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Sophie Rickmers wreck?+
The wheelhouse sits at 37 metres, the decks at around 45 metres, and the straight bow rests on the bottom at over 55 metres. Lumba Lumba organises the dive as a special decompression dive because of it, with a preparation dive built into the program.
What certification do I need for the Sophie Rickmers?+
It is open to experienced deep divers only and runs as a staged decompression dive rather than a recreational wreck dive. A preparation dive is part of the program, and technical dives with gas switches are available on request.
Sources
- Diving on Pulau Weh — Lumba Lumba Diving Centre
- List of shipwrecks in May 1940 — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- Air, nitrox or trimix: which gas, and when?Gear & kit · 15 min read
- WWII wrecks you can dive, by theatreWrecks · 7 min read
More dive sites in Pulau Weh
Pinnacle
A hundred morays in the rock, sharks on the 24 m plateau
Branching hard corals from 10 m to sand past 30 m
Drift
Fast drift over a rocky slope with devil rays and reef sharks
Wreck
A small iron tugboat on the harbour bottom at 20 m
Sand slope
Hot water bubbling up through the sand at 5 to 15 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Whale sharks around the hull between January and April
An 85 m ferry upright on the sand, captain's cabin at 12 m
A 90 m sugar carrier the coral has not finished claiming
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US-built landing ship, scuttled as an artificial reef in 2006