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Raiatea & Taha'a · French Polynesia · Wreck

The Nordby Wreck

A three-masted steel ship resting intact inside the lagoon

The Nordby is a three-masted steel ship lying in the Raiatea lagoon, in front of the Teavapiti pass. Its hull and rigging are intact and very well preserved, and the most experienced divers can go inside the wreck.

Also known as The Nordby, Nordby.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of The Nordby Wreck: typical dive 18–29 m (60–95 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit18 m29 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

16.7444° S, 151.4204° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The Nordby is 60 m long and is explored between 18 and 29 m, along a hull that has stayed in very good condition inside the lagoon. Surgeonfish, shrimps and nudibranchs have taken up residence on the wreck.

The wreck

Vessel
Nordby
Type
Three-masted steel sailing ship
Length
60 m (197 ft)
Cause
Cause of the sinking not published
Lies
In the Raiatea lagoon in front of the Teavapiti pass, between 18 and 29 m

Marine life and season

  • Nudibranchs
Month-by-month season rating for The Nordby Wreck
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimeGood

Season follows Raiatea & Taha'a: Diving runs every day all year; humpback whales visit from September to early December and are met on snorkelling trips.

Dive videos

Nordby.mp4 polynésie Raiatea plongée diving · Hémisphere Sub on YouTube

Plongé dans le Nordby à Raiatea · Te Mara Nui Plongée on YouTube

Questions divers ask

Can Level 1 divers visit the Nordby wreck?+

Yes. The wreck is dived from Level 1, and the exploration runs from 18 m down to 29 m along the hull.

Sources

  1. Diving — Te Mara Nui
  2. Exploration diving in Raiatea and Taha'a — Manawa
  3. Scuba diving in Raiatea-Tahaa & Bora-Bora — HemisphereSub Raiatea
  4. OpenStreetMap: Te Ava Piti — OpenStreetMap

More dive sites in Raiatea & Taha'a

Drift

Ceran Pass

Walls of barracudas circling a yellow-coral peak

35–50 madvanced

Coral garden

Miri Miri Ocean

Blacktip sharks over a calm, shallow coral garden

10–20 mbeginner

Drift

Miri Pass

Leopard rays and barracudas on a west-coast drift

10–20 mintermediate

Drift

Teavapiti Pass

Three kinds of reef shark in the current channel of a Raiatea pass

to 29 mintermediate

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