Norway

The diving in Norway is renowned for great visibility, awesome wrecks in pristine condition and minimal currents.  The  Gulf Stream brings warmer water into the fjords where the high mountains and tight squeezes make for a dramatic vista above and below water. Dry suit diving at its best, Norway hosts intact WWII wrecks in clear water on precipitous slopes.

The journey up from Bergen to Florø is both stunning and isolated. The massive panoramas and quaint stopovers offer a break from civilisation, an opportunity to explore in constant daylight.

Frankenwald

The Frankenwald took a wrong turn and ended grounding in the middle of a small basin of rocky ground. Consequently she now sits upright in 40m of seawater with the deck in at 30m. At 122m long, the Frankenwald is a sizeable ship and there is plenty to explore.

Type of Vessel: German Freighter
Depth: 30-40m
Sinking: Grounding 1940

Welheim

Welheim

The Welheim is simply massive.

The ship was on transit from Bergen to Alesund with a cargo of coal when she was struck by a torpedo and she sank alongside a small island. The bows are in 25m, the stern in 70m but the meat of the wreck can easily be explored topside of 40m.

Type of Vessel: German Cargo Ship
Depth: 25-70m
Sinking: Torpedoed 1944

Ferndale & Parat

The Ferndale grounded on  a rock where the following day the German tug Parat went to her rescue. Both vessels were attacked and by raiding Mosquitos while they were vulnerable.

It is the panorama of the two wrecks in tandem that lifts this dive and puts it in a class of its own. Although there is depth to be gained here, the profile is a gentle upward slope so decompression obligations aren’t as onerous as you would assume.

Type of Vessel: Norwegian Cargo Ship & Salvage Vessel
Depth: 8-60m
Sinking: Bombed 1944

Krakhellasund

The view above the Ferndale is equally stunning.
A small rock in the middle of a tight fjord marks the ship’s final resting place.

Krakhellasund

Svanholm

A Norwegian steamship carrying a cargo of timber that was sunk by a German Uboat in 1917.

Type of Vessel: Danish Cargo Ship

Depth: 40m

Sinking: Torpedoed 1917

Florø

Norway is one of the most stunning countries in the world to visit and there is no better way to explore than on the back of a boat (other than on a motorbike!)