ARTHUR
Protected Area
2025774 Rön, Röns skär, Röns huvud
Why dive here
With 121+ marine species recorded in the area - including dolphins, dwarf minke whales, humpback whales, orcas and seals & sea lions - ARTHUR offers some of West Coast (Gothenburg)'s richest wreck diving. Water sits around 2°C.
The Arthur is one of those wrecks that just grabs you, even at 45 metres. We love dropping down and seeing her stern start to emerge from the gloom, often with huge schools of cod milling about the broken deck. She’s a steamship, sunk by a German U-boat in 1916, and you really feel that history as you fin over her. You can poke around the collapsed superstructure, imagining the cargo she was carrying from Leith to Gothenburg. The visibility here can vary, but on a good day, it's pretty clear, and the light filtering down gives her a ghostly, atmospheric feel. This site is definitely for experienced divers comfortable with deeper dives and the often chilly Swedish water. Keep an eye out for conger eels tucked into crevices; they’re regular residents, and we’ve spotted giant lumpsuckers here too, sometimes clinging to the bow. Our favourite part is exploring the propeller, often covered in colourful anemones. It’s a proper expedition dive, a real taste of West Coast wreck diving.
Typical ARTHUR Dive Profile
Illustrative profile based on site depth and type. Actual dive profiles vary - always follow your dive computer and training.
Safety Notes
Maximum depth 45m exceeds recreational limits (40m). Technical diving certification and equipment required.
Wreck site - avoid penetration without wreck diving certification. Watch for sharp metal and entanglement hazards.
Cold water this month (avg 2°C). Drysuit or thick wetsuit (7mm+) recommended.
Always perform a 3-minute safety stop at 5m before surfacing.
ARTHUR Wreck History
Year Sunk
1916
Vessel Type
cargo ship
Cause
scuttled
The story of the steamship Arthur is a stark reminder of the perils of naval warfare during World War I. In November 1916, the vessel was on a passage from Leith, Scotland, to the neutral port of Gothenburg, Sweden. Before it could reach the safety of its destination, it was intercepted in the North Sea by the German submarine U-75. Rather than being sunk by a torpedo, the Arthur was captured, and the U-boat crew scuttled the ship using bombs, ensuring its demise.
Resting at 45 meters off the west coast of Sweden, the Arthur is a challenging dive reserved for technical divers. The cold, dark waters of the North Sea have kept the wreck in a remarkable state of preservation. Descending onto this WWI casualty is a somber and fascinating experience. Divers can explore a vessel that was stopped in its tracks, a victim of a calculated act of war. The wreck is a tangible connection to the Great War and the naval conflict that dominated these waters over a century ago.
Reviews for ARTHUR
Conditions
Ocean conditions, forecast and tides for ARTHUR
ARTHUR Ocean Conditions
Monthly averages for ARTHUR, sourced from NOAA buoy data - nearest station: Open-Meteo grid (58.28, 11.41) (0km away)
August Averages
Sea Temperature
1.94°C
35°F
Air Temperature
16.84°C
62°F
Wind Speed
5.21 m/s
10.1 knots
Atmospheric Pressure
1012.4 hPa
Based on 5 years of monitoring data · Data sources: NOAA NDBC
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