Shallow wreck - SS Empire Tana

Photo: Simon Volpe

Located at Ballyhenry Bay in Strangford Lough, in the east of Northern Ireland, this wreck can be dived to a maximum depth of 10m. Originally an Italian vessel, she was captured by the British during the Second World War and even played a role in the DDay landings, forming part of a Mulberry harbour (a floating pier used to ferry men and munitions to the front line). The wreck can be accessed by charter boat from Portaferry.

After the Second World War, she was purchased by the John Lee breaker’s yard, based at Ballyhenry Bay. The plan was to beach her at high tide but the current caught her, she then struck rocks and quickly sank. The salvage men did, however, get something for their efforts, the vessel broke in two and the bow was cut away and subsequently scrapped.

Today, a good proportion of rusting steel still rises above the surface, so locating the wreck is not a problem. It’s even possible to tie onto the wreck. Late-ish season visits are recommended for the Empire Tana.

Visit in September, for instance, and you can be assured of reasonable visibility (about 8–10m) and balmy water temperatures of about 15ºC. You are even protected from the currents of Strangford Lough, though the stern area of the wreck is quite exposed.

For a shallow wreck in fairly turbid water, there’s a surprising amount of life: the bulkheads have been colonised by dead men’s fingers, sponges and soft corals.

Sunlight is a pervasive force here, and finds its way into even the most obscure corners of the wreck, rippling through cracks in the rusting hulk like laser beams.

There are holes in this wreck large enough to swim in and out of, but my favourite area is the hull, which is shrouded in the white of dead men’s fingers. Almost as beautiful is the sight of the rudder at the stern, but be careful here, as this portion of the wreck is more exposed to the lough’s currents.

Useful contacts
DV Diving Strangford Loch, N Ireland
tel: 020 891 464671
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website: http://www.dvdiving.co.uk