Trip Report: The Isurus I
- Location : Bay of Pontevedra, Costa da Vela
- Depth: 41m
Background
The Isurus I was a lobster pot fishing vessel which sunk in its maiden voyage while on its way to Mauritania. It had been built in Marin by HAR Industrial y Naval in 2002. It´s total length was 20.5 metres, it´s beam 6.3 metres, height 5.1 m and displaced 87 tons. It had a Volvo D25 engine that produced 178 kWatt.
The vessel sunk after being hit by a couple of strong waves that forced it to take water from its port side. The crew of 2 (captain and able seaman). There was no loss of life in this accident as the crew was brought to safety by a fisheries inspection vessel.
The dive
Shortly after the accident a buoy marked the exact position of the wreck. Several dives were conducted by local centres. The photographs taken show that the wreck lied on it´s port side listing almost 90 degrees. Salvage work was done on the wreck and at some point the buoy that marked its position was removed. Since then no diving was conducted on the wreck due to the difficulty locating it.
A combination of a magnetometer search and the approximate coordinates provided by one of the centres allowed us to find it (albeit with a bit of luck) on 12th May 2006. Two years had passed since the last dive on this wreck.
We found it resting on its starboard side, listing 30 degrees. The wheelhouse is missing and there is significant damage to its port side. A section of the wheelhouse lies near the wreck, on the sandy seabed. Several large holes have been cut on its port side allowing access to the engine room and crew quarters. There is a hydraulic crane still in place, but reports indicate that a second one has been removed.
There is a large amount of ropes tangled on the railings, crane and fittings near the starboard side. The hull sits on a rocky seabed at 41m. There are a couple of conger eels resident on the wreck, one inside the crane and the other under the hull on its starboard side, near the bow.
The main and auxiliary propellers are still in place. The blades of the propeller bent, probably due to hitting the seabed while still turning. All the ropes dangling and floating with the current represent a massive entanglement hazard.
The visibility varied between 4 and 10m in the two dives we have done on it so far. Due to being fairly close to the shore and in an exposed area, deep sea waves can stir the seabed and reduce the visibility tremendously.
(24.7M) |
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