The Saint Dunstan, a WWII freighter was torpedoed off Northern Ireland on 25 August 1940 while in a convoy heading for Canada. The steamship did not sink immediately and was taken in tow for the Clyde, but sank 2 days later 4.75 miles NE of Pladda in the Lower Firth.
Diver inspecting stern accommodation, a doorway is behind his scooter.
The wreck was visited, probably for the first time, at the end of March 2022 by a team of divers from GUE-Scotland. Not a dive for the faint hearted, this is a deep dark dive with seabed depths around 82 metres and average depths on the wreck of 75 metres. The team managed two dives on the wreck, the first around the stern and associated accommodation, the second on the central island, the main accommodation area, engine room and bridge.
Deck railings with Dahlia anemones attached.
Their dive was recorded on camera by Owen Flowers who has kindly allowed us to reproduce some of his pictures on our web page which can be found here – www.scottishshipwrecks.com/saint-dunstan. Conditions on the dive limited the field of view, visibility was 2-4 metres but the shots show up some of the sealife that inhabit deep wrecks, siting up in the main tidal flow. The dive was conducted using closed circuit rebreathers and each diver carried their own bailout rig, so plenty to keep them occupied apart from investigating the wreck. Hopefully the team will revisit the Saint Dunstan in years to come and provide more pictures of the wreck.
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