wreck

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Wreck of Almond Blossom

The Baltic Sea doesn’t give up its secrets easily, but the Ostmark is a prime example of why we keep coming back. She was a ferry, then a troopship, and now she’s a home for wolf-fish and dab. Diving her feels like stepping back into a very cold moment in history. We usually drop onto the stern, which sits upright. The bow is broken but still offers plenty of scope for exploration. You can spend an entire dive just picking apart the details, imagining the decks swarming with soldiers before she sank in 1943. Our favourite part is the engine room, which is accessible and still holds a lot of its original machinery. It’s dark in there, of course, so a good primary torch and a backup are non-negotiable. Visibility here is typical for the Baltic. Don’t expect the Caribbean. On a good day, you might get 10-15 metres, but it’s often closer to five. That just adds to the atmosphere, we think. It’s also a colder dive, so a drysuit is really your only sensible option. The reward is the sheer density of life that has claimed the wreck. Wolf-fish lurk in the shadows, their grumpy faces peering out from behind twisted metal. Four-bearded rocklings weave through the superstructure. You’ll also spot plenty of dab and even the occasional dogfish patrolling the sand nearby. It’s a dive for those who appreciate history and don’t mind a bit of a chill. We recommend visiting in late summer, as the water temperature is at its highest, relatively speaking.