Royal Navy Warship HMS Nottingham Lost for 110 Years Discovered in North Sea

A team of international technical divers, working under ProjectXplore, has successfully located and identified the wreck of HMS Nottingham, a Royal Navy warship lost during World War I.

Wrecks & Archaeology

After over a century of searching, the wreck of HMS Nottingham, a British First World War light cruiser, has been located and positively identified in the North Sea. The discovery was made by an international team of technical divers from ProjectXplore, bringing closure to a long-standing naval mystery and commemorating a vessel lost during a pivotal moment in naval history.

Wreck of WWI Cruiser HMS Hawke Found in “Amazing” Condition

The wreck of HMS Hawke, a British Royal Navy cruiser, which was torpedoed by the German submarine U-9 on 15 October 1914 and presumed lost for over a century, has been located off the Scottish coast.

Wrecks & Archaeology

HMS Hawke was discovered earlier this week after an extensive search by Lost in Waters Deep—a group that searches for WWI shipwrecks—about 70 miles off the Aberdeenshire coast. It was found to be in "remarkable" condition, lying at a depth of around 110 metres (360ft).

The Houting's Remarkable Return: Not Extinct After All

The houting, a fish species that lived in North Sea estuaries and was previously categorized as 'extinct' on the IUCN Red List of Species turns out to be alive and well.

 

In 2023, DNA analysis found the houting to be genetically indistinguishable from Coregonus lavaretus, the common European Whitefish,and therefore not extinct.
Ecology & Science

The Houting fish, believed to have vanished from our waters, has made an unexpected return. Previously listed as 'extinct' on the IUCN Red List of Species, recent research has unveiled that this fish is not only thriving but is also not a distinct species as once thought.

The initial classification of its extinction was centred on morphological differences, especially the number of gill rakers. However, a detailed study published on bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com contradicts this.

Abandoned WW2 wrecks leak toxic chemicals in the North Sea

A new study analyzing the World War II shipwreck V-1302 John Mahn, which was sunk in 1942 in the Belgian part of the North Sea, shows that it is currently leaking toxic chemicals and heavy metals in the North Sea.

The V-1302 John Mahn started out as a German fishing trawler before being converted into a patrol boat during the war. It was sunk close to the Belgian coast in 1942 by the British Royal Air Force, as part of the Channel Dash operation.
Wrecks & Archaeology

The V-1302 John Mahn was a fishing trawler requisitioned by the German navy during the Second World War and sunk by UK bombers in 1942. It has rested at 30 metres below sea level in the Belgian North Sea ever since.

Together with the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, bio-engineer Josefien Van Landuyt examined samples of sediment in the area around the sunken John Mahn. In doing so, she aimed to discover whether old shipwrecks in the Belgian section of the North Sea continue to affect microbial marine life.

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The Drowned Lands of Doggerland

Once upon a time there was a land... Doggerland—a huge area of dry land that once stretched from Scotland to Denmark—was slowly submerged by water between 18,000 BC and 5,500 BC. Today it is a shallow bank and productive fishing ground in the middle of the North Sea.

Words:
Cor Kuyvenhoven
Images:
Cor Kuyvenhoven
Jesca Zweijtzer
St. Andrews University
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Travel & Trips
Ecology & Science

Glancing at a map of Europe, the North Sea appears to be quite an expanse of featureless open sea separating Scandinavia and the European mainland from the British Isles. The North Sea is, however, not an oceanic abyss but a shallow sea flooding a low-lying part of the continent.

German WWII cruiser found between Norway and Denmark

80 years after it was sunk, the wreck of WWII German cruiser "Karlsruhe", the warship that led the attack on Kristiansand during the invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940 has been discovered resting at 490 meters below sea level about 13 nautical miles from Kristiansand in Southern Norway.

Wrecks & Archaeology

Statnett, the Norwegian state-owned power grid operator, made the astounding discovery of the lost Karlsruhe cruiser around 488 meters (1,600 feet) below sea level off the Southern coast of Norway, some 13 nautical miles from the port of Kristiansand. Signs of wreckage were first detected three years ago during inspection work when sonar detected a shipwreck only 15 meters from an undersea power cable between Norway and Denmark.

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Scotland's Islands of Forth

The entrance to the Firth of Forth, an estuary in southeast Scotland, is guarded by a number of islands, the two largest and most popular for diving being the Isle of May or May Isle, 7km (4.5 miles) from Crail in Fife and the Bass Rock, or The Bass, located 2km (1.2 miles) offshore and 5km (3.1 miles) northeast of North Berwick in East Lothian. Both rocky islands are usually visited on a day dive trip in which divers can enjoy three dives amidst some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the British Isles. The other principal islands are Inchkeith, Inchmickery, Inchgarvie, Inchcolm, Alloa Inch and Tullibody Inch.

Words:
Lawson Wood
Images:
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Travel & Trips

Although May Isle is only 57 hectares, it has been a National Nature Reserve since 1956 and is internationally important for its seabird and seal colonies. This small island has over 200,000 breading seabirds, as well as over 90,000 puffins; the island is honeycombed with their burrows. Both islands are National Nature Reserves with the Bass Rock being world famous for its resident population of gannets (Sula bassana) named after this rocky stack.

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Ghost Fishing in the German North Sea

In May 2016, the dive team of the Dutch Ghost Fishing Foundation helped a German Greenpeace campaign, with the goal of drawing attention to the sizable problem of ghost nets in the North Sea. After almost two weeks of ideal weather conditions—with bizarrely bad visibility underwater—the deck of the Arctic Sunrise boasted five enormous BIG BAGs (the Swedish eco-friendly garbage bag brand) full of nets and fishing lines. A considerable catch, but there is plenty more work waiting at the bottom of the German North Sea.

Words:
Annet van Aarsen
Images:
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Ecology & Science

“These wrecks have no ghost nets,” said Andi Peters, the man whose own website introduces him as “Der Nordseetaucher” (“The North Sea Diver”).

An experienced wreck diver, Peters can be found regularly on the Sylter outer reef in the German part of the North Sea, an area to the west of the island of Sylt and north of Helgoland.

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Battle of Jutland Centenary Expedition

It is hard to put into words what I was feeling at this stage. I was descending the shot line in approximately 15m visibility and an image started to appear. Not the random wreckage you often see, or even the straight lines of a cargo ship, instead these were two long barrels. This was no ordinary wreck—I was looking at the ‘X’ Turret of HMS Invincible.

Words:
Steve Slater
Images:
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Wrecks & Archaeology

Diving the shipwrecks of the Battle of Jutland had always been an ambition of mine. Having first learnt about the battle at school, it had always resonated with me—hundreds of ships, mighty platforms speeding in excess of 20 knots, firing their enormous guns and, of course, the human tragedy of over 8,000 lives lost.

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