POLTAVA (POSSIBLY) - Scottish East Coast & Borders
The Poltava, or what we strongly suspect is the Poltava, sits deep on the seabed off Souter Point. Dropping onto her at 37 metres, you’re met with the ghostly outline of a steamship, sunk by a mine back in 1917. She’s broken, understandably, but still holds together enough to give you a real sense of her scale. We love the exposed engine room, where machinery stands defiant against the ravages of time and tide. It’s dark down here, a proper deep wreck dive, so good lights are essential to cut through the gloom and pick out the details. This is a dive for experienced cold-water wreck enthusiasts, those who appreciate history and don't mind the chill. We find the atmosphere incredibly evocative. Ling and cod often peer out from nooks and crannies, while anemones cling to every available surface, adding splashes of unexpected colour to the otherwise muted palette of the deep. It's a challenging but ultimately rewarding experience, a true taste of North Sea wreck diving.
- Location
- Scottish East Coast & Borders, United Kingdom, Mediterranean & Europe
- Coordinates
- 54.958500, -1.291467
- Type
- wreck
- Maximum Depth
- 37m
Marine Protected Area: Tynemouth to Seaton Sluice
Nearby Dive Sites in Scottish East Coast & Borders
- ABESSINIA - 2m (wreck)
- ACCLIVITY - 26m (wreck)
- ADAMS BECK (PROBABLY) - 52m (wreck)
- ADORATION (POSSIBLY) - 52m (wreck)
- AEPOS - 60m (wreck)
- ALASKAN - 43m (wreck)
- ALBANO - 49m (wreck)
- ALERT - 42m (wreck)
- ALEXANDER - 2m (wreck)
- AMSTERDAM - 38m (wreck)
- ANGELA - 18m (wreck)
- ANLABY - 20m (wreck)
- ANNETTE MARY - 15m (wreck)
- ANN MODROS - 36m (wreck)
- ANU - 7m (wreck)
Nearest Dive Centres to POLTAVA (POSSIBLY)
- Aquanorth - ["PADI"]
- Aqua Purists
- Deep Blue Scuba - PADI
- Deep Sea World Aquarium - ["PADI"]
- Libertas Scuba Stirling
- Newcastle University Sub Aqua Society - ["PADI"]
Marine Life in Scottish East Coast & Borders
Home to 126 recorded species including 53 reef fish, 12 whales & dolphins, 10 seagrass & algae, 10 sharks & rays, 9 crabs & lobsters, 8 other.
Notable Species
- Protestant (Clupea harengus) - Reef Fish
- whiting (Merlangius merlangus) - Reef Fish
- dab (Limanda limanda) - Reef Fish
- Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) - Reef Fish
- Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) - Reef Fish
- long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides) - Reef Fish
- sprat (Sprattus sprattus) - Reef Fish
- Common sea star (Asterias rubens) - Starfish
- Cowfish (Tursiops truncatus) - Whales & Dolphins
- Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
- harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) - Whales & Dolphins
- Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) - Clams & Mussels
- Common lobster (Homarus gammarus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina) - Hard Corals
- bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) - Seagrass & Algae
- Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus) - Sea Snails & Nudibranchs
- Common brittlestar (Ophiothrix fragilis)
- butterfish (Pholis gunnellus) - Reef Fish
- grey gurnard (Eutrigla gurnardus) - Reef Fish