Pulau Weh · Indonesia · Wreck
Tugboat Wreck
A small iron tugboat on the harbour bottom at 20 m
Area photo: Pavel Kirillov · CC BY-SA 2.0
An Indonesian tugboat sunk in the 1960s and lying in Sabang Harbour, its iron hull still in relatively good shape. The dive centre on the island lists the site at 15 to 20 m, shallow enough that the whole wreck fits inside one no-decompression dive, and it is the wreck divers on Weh are pointed at when they want to learn what a hull looks like underwater.
Also known as The Sunken Tugboat.
Where it is and how deep
5.8849° N, 95.3108° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You dive it from a boat in Sabang Harbour, on the eastern side of the island rather than from the north-west dive beaches, and the descent is short: the dive centre lists the site at 15 to 20 m, so the hull is under you not long after you leave the surface. The wreck is small, which is the point — one dive is enough to swim the whole of it rather than pick at one end, and the iron hull is in relatively good shape.
Work the outside first, following the hull around at the sand line and then rising over the deck, where the shallow depth leaves gas and no-decompression time in hand. The metal is where the life is: nudibranchs on the plating and trevally moving over the structure. Keep off the plating and stay outside unless you carry wreck training, since the inside of a hull this age is not a place to improvise.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Indonesian tugboat
- Type
- Iron-hulled tugboat
- Cause
- Not established in the published sources for the site
- Lies
- On the bottom of Sabang Harbour, hull relatively intact
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Trevally & jacks
| 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 hull is old iron with cut and corroded edges; keep off the plating and out of the interior unless you are wreck trained.
- Published depths for the wreck differ, one listing giving 15 to 20 m and another 6 to 10 m, so plan the dive on the boat's briefing rather than on a figure read beforehand.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Tugboat Wreck?+
The dive centre on the island lists the site at 15 to 20 m. A separate catalogue listing gives shallower figures, 10 m on the bottom with the top of the wreck at 6 m, so take the depth from the boat briefing on the day.
Is the Tugboat Wreck good for a first wreck dive?+
Yes. It is small enough to swim around in one dive and described as suited to beginners learning wreck diving, provided you stay outside the hull.
Sources
- Tugboat Wreck dive site — Scubago
- Pulau Weh dive sites — Lumba Lumba Diving Centre
More dive sites in Pulau Weh
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Drift
Fast drift over a rocky slope with devil rays and reef sharks
Wreck
Wheelhouse at 37 m, bow on the bottom past 55 m
Sand slope
Hot water bubbling up through the sand at 5 to 15 m
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