Wreck diving

For diving on wrecks to collect data and preserve artifacts, see Underwater archaeology. For professional diving on wrecks to salvage the vessel or contents, see Salvage diving and Marine salvage.
Diver at the wreck of the Hilma Hooker, Netherlands Antilles.

Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. The term is used mainly by recreational and technical divers. Professional divers, when diving on a shipwreck, generally refer to the specific task, such as salvage work, accident investigation or archaeological survey. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites. Diving to crashed aircraft can also be considered wreck diving.[1] The recreation of wreck diving makes no distinction as to how the vessel ended up on the bottom.

Some wreck diving involves penetration of the wreckage, making a direct ascent to the surface impossible for a part of the dive.[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CHAA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DAN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).