Strangford Lough · United Kingdom · Wreck
Outer Lees
The stern half of the Lees wreck, out in the tidal stream
Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
The stern section of the Empire Tana, whose bow forms the Inner Lees, lying further out in Strangford Lough and reached only by boat. The current can run hard here, so the wreck is dived on slack water, when its easy openings make it a good training site.
Also known as The Outer Lees.
Where it is and how deep
54.3894° N, 5.5656° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The stern lies in 15 m and normally breaks the surface, though high-water springs can cover it. Divers go in on the slack, since the wreck sees quite a current at other times. Like the bow section, the stern is easy to penetrate, which makes it a useful wreck for training once the tide is right.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Empire Tana (stern section)
- Type
- Cargo ship
- Built
- 1923
- Sunk
- 1947
- Cause
- Ran aground in 1947 while being taken to be scrapped, and broke in two
- Lies
- In 15 m, normally breaking the surface but covered at high-water springs
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Strangford Lough: No month stands out as a peak; from December to May the sea feels very cold, and from June to November only cold or cool.
Know before you go
- Quite a current runs over the wreck at certain states of the tide; dive it only on slack water.
Dive videos
#148 Dive, Outer Lees, Strangford Lough, 23/07/22, Short · FINN on YouTube
Sources
- Diving & Snorkeling - Strangford Lough — Strangford Lough & Lecale Partnership
- Ready, a dive to remember: Strangford Lough — BSAC
- List of Empire ships (Ta–Te) — Wikipedia
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A grassy path leads down to a weedy shore, with low dark wreckage lying in the calm grey water beyond by Eric Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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