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A small green-hulled boat on blue sea in front of a steep green headland with a white lighthouse at its tip — Shetland

Shetland · United Kingdom · Wreck

MV Pionersk

Factory-ship wreck too big to see in a single dive

Area photo: Ronnie Robertson · CC BY-SA 2.0

The MV Pionersk is a large fish factory ship driven aground in a storm in October 1994 just outside Lerwick. Within a day her back broke, and later storms drove her into the rocks. She runs from 1 m down to the stern at 22 m, and she is longer than the Scapa Flow battleships.

Also known as Pionersk.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of MV Pionersk: typical dive 1–22 m (3–72 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit1 m22 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Shetland and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

The shallowest part of the Pionersk is barely 1 m under the surface, and the wreck runs down from there to the stern at 22 m. The ship is longer than the battleships sunk in Scapa Flow, and getting to grips with all of her takes several dives.

The wreck

Vessel
Pionersk
Type
Fish factory ship
Sunk
1994
Cause
Grounded in a storm just outside Lerwick
Lies
From 1 m down to the stern at 22 m, just outside Lerwick

Marine life and season

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

Month-by-month season rating for MV Pionersk
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairFairFairPrimePrimePrimeFairFairFairFair

Season follows Shetland: Shetland's liveaboard diving runs as a summer season, from June to August.

Dive videos

The wreck of the Pionersk, Shetland · Dory Video on YouTube

Questions divers ask

How many dives does the Pionersk wreck take?+

Several. The ship is longer than the Scapa Flow battleships and runs from 1 m to the stern at 22 m, so each dive covers one section.

Sources

  1. Lerwick recreational diving — Orkney and Shetland Charters

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