Reefwander
A white lighthouse and keepers' cottages on a rocky green headland above calm blue sea, with a rock arch at the waterline — MV Lunokhods 1, Shetland

Shetland · United Kingdom · Wreck

MV Lunokhods 1

Factory ship wedged stern first into the rocks below Kirkabister Lighthouse

Photo: Hajotthu at de.wikipedia · CC BY 3.0

The MV Lunokhods 1 is a Russian fish factory ship that ran aground in November 1993 just below Kirkabister Lighthouse on Bressay and sank where she struck. Wedged stern first into the rocks, she runs from 2 m at the stern down a broken midships to an intact bow at 42 m.

Also known as Lunokhods, Lunokhod.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of MV Lunokhods 1: typical dive 2–42 m (7–138 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit2 m42 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

60.1200° N, 1.1215° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive starts on the stern, which is largely intact and wedged into the rocks with only 2 m of water over it. Working down the wreck, the midships section becomes progressively more broken with depth. The last third of the ship is the bow section, which lies intact at 42 m and marks the deep end of the dive.

The wreck

Vessel
Lunokhods 1
Type
Russian fish factory ship
Sunk
1993
Cause
Grounded just below Kirkabister Lighthouse on Bressay and sank there
Lies
Stern first into the rocks, stern at 2 m, broken midships, intact bow at 42 m

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for MV Lunokhods 1
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
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Season follows Shetland: Shetland's liveaboard diving runs as a summer season, from June to August.

Dive videos

Diving Wreck of MV Lunokhods, Shetland · Highland Divers on YouTube

Sources

  1. Lerwick recreational diving — Orkney and Shetland Charters
  2. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

Photo credits

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