MOTILAN - Baltic Coast

Motilan is the kind of wreck we love. It’s a tug, sitting upright at 36 metres, and while the Baltic usually means cold, dark dives, Motilan often surprises with respectable visibility. Descending, you feel the chill, but then the shape of the tug emerges, a real sense of its working life still clinging to it. The wheelhouse is our favourite part, relatively intact, with the steering mechanism still there, inviting you to imagine the crew. Inside the engine room, penetration is tight but doable for experienced wreck divers, offering a glimpse of the machinery that once powered this vessel. The wreck itself is classified as dangerous, which sounds ominous, but really just means it’s old and fragile. We’ve found the stern deck provides great photo opportunities, with a dense cover of green and brown algae, and tiny scampi darting between the metalwork. It’s a site that rewards multiple dives; you can focus on the external structure on one dive, then explore the internal spaces on another. Current is usually mild here, but thermoclines can be quite pronounced, so a drysuit is definitely our recommendation. We’d suggest going in late spring or early autumn for the best chance of settled conditions and decent visibility.

Location: Baltic Coast, Sweden, Mediterranean & Europe
Coordinates: 59.466667, 20.200000
Type: wreck
Maximum Depth: 36m

Marine Protected Area: 2002199 Svenska Högarna

Best Time to Dive in Baltic Coast

The warmest water temperatures in Baltic Coast occur in January, averaging 0.6°C. The coolest conditions are in December at 0.6°C.

Monthly Water Temperatures

January: 0.6°C (air: -0.4°C)
February: 0.6°C (air: -0.3°C)
March: 0.6°C (air: 1.7°C)
April: 0.6°C (air: 4.6°C)
May: 0.6°C (air: 10.5°C)
June: 0.6°C (air: 17.2°C)
July: 0.6°C (air: 17.8°C)
August: 0.6°C (air: 17.3°C)
September: 0.6°C (air: 13.2°C)
October: 0.6°C (air: 8.5°C)
November: 0.6°C (air: 3.8°C)
December: 0.6°C (air: -0.5°C)

Nearest Dive Centres to MOTILAN

Marine Life in Baltic Coast

Home to 59 recorded species including 31 reef fish, 9 seagrass & algae, 5 sea snails & nudibranchs, 4 other, 3 whales & dolphins, 3 sharks & rays.

Notable Species

Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) - Clams & Mussels
Protestant (Clupea harengus) - Reef Fish
bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) - Seagrass & Algae
New Zealand Mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
Fluke (Platichthys flesus) - Reef Fish
Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) - Reef Fish
Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - Reef Fish
sprat (Sprattus sprattus) - Reef Fish
bull rout (Myoxocephalus scorpius) - Reef Fish
Sea gooseberry (Pleurobrachia pileus)
pike (Esox lucius) - Reef Fish
common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) - Jellyfish
Spawn (Gasterosteus aculeatus) - Reef Fish
burbot (Lota lota) - Reef Fish
Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) - Reef Fish
black goby (Gobius niger) - Reef Fish
salmon (Salmo salar) - Reef Fish
lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) - Reef Fish
eel (Anguilla anguilla) - Reef Fish
eelgrass (Zostera marina) - Seagrass & Algae

Recommended Packing List for MOTILAN

Based on average water temperature of 0.6°C.

Drysuit - water at 1°C demands a drysuit with thermal undergarments
Hood & Gloves (7mm+) - critical to prevent heat loss
Mask - essential for every dive
Fins
BCD - buoyancy compensator
Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories