Reefwander
A deep blue bay with rocky green headland in front and a town spread along the far shore under a clear sky — SS Gwladmena, Shetland

Shetland · United Kingdom · Wreck

SS Gwladmena

Upright steamship hull in Breiwick bay, diveable at any state of tide

Photo: Gordon Brown · CC BY-SA 2.0

The SS Gwladmena is a 930-ton steamship that sank in Breiwick bay, close to Lerwick harbour, after a collision with the SS Flora in 1918. She lies upright with her hull and some of her deck mostly intact, reaches 39 m, and can be dived at any state of tide. Lerwick Port Authority protects the wreck.

Also known as Gwladmena, Glwadmena.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of SS Gwladmena: typical dive to 39 m (to 128 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit39 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

60.1503° N, 1.1469° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The Gwladmena, a 221 ft (67 m) steamer, rests upright on the bottom of Breiwick bay with the hull and parts of the deck still mostly whole. The bay can be dived at any state of tide, so the dive can start at any time of day, and it reaches 39 m at its deepest.

The wreck

Vessel
Gwladmena
Type
930-ton steamship
Length
67 m (220 ft)
Sunk
1918
Cause
Collision with the SS Flora
Lies
Upright in Breiwick bay near Lerwick harbour, hull and some deck mostly intact, to 39 m

Marine life and season

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

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

Dive videos

The wreck of the SS Gwladmena, Shetlands · Dory Video on YouTube

Sources

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

Photo credits

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