Wreck of Persian Empire

Protected Area

Grennan Bay

Why dive here

With 118+ marine species recorded in the area - including dolphins, dwarf minke whales, humpback whales, ocean sunfish (mola mola) and orcas - Wreck of Persian Empire offers some of Northumberland & Northeast's richest wreck diving.

Marine lifeDolphins, Dwarf Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) and Orcas · 118+ species recorded

CharacterWreck dive

StandoutRich in charismatic marine life

The Persian Empire wreck, off the Northumberland coast, is one of those sites we always come back to. It’s a proper ship, not just a scatter, lying mostly intact and sitting upright. You can spend a good chunk of your bottom time nosing around the superstructure, dropping into cargo holds that are now cavernous homes for legions of cod and ling. We love poking into the nooks and crannies where the light barely penetrates, often finding monstrous edible crabs scuttling away or a grumpy wolf fish peering out from a shadowed pipe. It’s an impressive sight, with the bow and stern still well-defined and the sheer scale of the ship evident as you swim along its length. The visibility here can be… variable, let's say, but when it’s good, the light filtering down through the kelp-draped sections of the wreck is absolutely gorgeous. Our pick for a perfect dive here is a calm day with a neap tide, allowing you to really take your time and appreciate the sheer size of the wreck without battling a strong push. It’s a site that rewards multiple visits, each time revealing another detail swallowed by the cold North Sea.