Last year, the Healthy Seas diving team Ghost Fishing undertook several clean-up dives to the Croatian shipwreck MS Argo. They stripped the bow of the wreck of heavy trawler nets and other lost fishing gear. Because the divers weren’t able to clean the full wreck it was decided to continue their removal efforts in 2014.
Read more about our Croatian activities and results in 2013 »
This week, from 2-6 June, our international team of experienced divers will return to Krnica, Croatia, to spend another week on their beloved shipwreck. This year they will focus on cleaning the stern of the ship wreck. Next to this, the divers will continue performing clean-up dives on the local reef and the harbour Luka Krnica. The project is facilitated by the technical diving centre Krnica Dive.
MS Argo
The wreck of the MS Argo is located in the Gulf of Kvarner, a shipping route with heavy traffic to the port city of Rijeka. The ship was a minesweeper in World War II and was converted to a reefer in peace time. The second career did not last long: on 22 January 1948, the MS Argo ran on a sea mine on its way from Venice to Rijeka. Only one of the twelve crew members survived. The ship broke in two pieces and sunk. Since 2001, people have dived on the wreck of MS Argo. The diving depth is 45-50 meters and for experienced divers the trip to the MS Argo is an unforgettable experience. So far, there was however one negative aspect: the large amount of lost fishing gear on the wreck. For years already, Krnica Dive owner Maurizio Grbac had the idea to remove the many nets. Team Ghost Fishing and Krnica Dive joined forces in late 2012 and Project Argo was born. The work in this first project first focused on the bow part of the wreck. This summer, the stern part will be dealt with.
Clean-up dives 2014
For Healthy Seas, our divers will perform 28 clean-up dives in the Adriatic and the North Sea in 2014. During these dives they will recover ghost nets and other fishing gear from many shipwrecks. Four additional trips are being planned in the North Sea with the Dutch company PAN Salvage. Because the trips are very dependent on good weather and a reasonably calm sea, last–minute cancellations are possible.
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates on the diving and salvage trips!
Photo: Ghost net removal MS Argo (bow) © Fabrizio Tosoni
Project Argo 2013 from Ghost Fishing on Vimeo.