The rare discovery of a 200-year-old shipwreck is set to turn the quaint fishing village of Bheemunipatnam, about 45 km from Visakhapatnam, into the next big scuba diving destination of the country.
The wreck, located just six metres below the sea surface, was first spotted by scuba divers Balaram Naidu and dive master Anil Kumar on December 21. The team made their second exploration to the wreck site on Monday and the findings have the scuba diving community all excited.
“Preliminary observations revealed the shipwreck site to be spread over a vast area. Our findings indicate the ship to be around 200 years old, and 150 metres in length. But we are still in the process of putting together all the facts,” said Mr. Naidu, who is also the director of Livein Adventures, a Visakhapatnam-based firm that conducts adventure sports. On Monday, the scuba diving team spotted parrot fish, yellow back snappers, sweetlips, ribbonfish, moray eel, and lion fish among other rich aquatic life in and around the shipwreck.
According to experienced scuba divers, this is probably the only wreck site in the world at such a shallow depth, making it accessible even to novice divers and non-swimmers. “Most of the world’s famous shipwreck sites are located deep in the ocean where only experienced and certified scuba divers can go,” Mr. Kumar said.
Rocky seabed
According to historian Edward Paul, the location is said to be north of Bheemunipatnam, near ‘Santhapalli rocks’. This area has a record of ships sinking due to rocky sea bed. The British built a light house here in 1840.
The scuba team make a presentation to the AP Tourism Authority on turning Visakhapatnam into a scuba diving destination
