MS Seattle (1940): Shipwreck Map, Location & Facts

Name	MS Seattle	Wikidata label
Year lost	1940	Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier
Era	Second World War	derived from year
Ship type	motor ship, sunken vessel	Wikidata P31 instance of
Conflict	World War II	Wikidata P607 conflict
Sea / ocean	Skagerrak	Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon
Nearest coast	Norway	Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 10 km from land
Position	58.0388, 8.0237	Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0)

About the wreck

MS Seattle was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) cargo liner that was launched in 1928. Her regular route was between Hamburg and Vancouver via the Panama Canal and the West Coast of the United States.

She spent the first six months of the Second World War sheltering in the Netherlands Antilles. She then tried to reach Germany via the Norwegian Sea, but ran into the first day of the German invasion of Norway and was sunk. Her wreck is now a popular but hazardous wreck diving site.

Diving & visiting

Seattle's wreck lies at a depth of 25 to 72 metres (82 to 236 ft). It was found in 1988, and is listed by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. Large numbers of sea squirts, sponges, and cnidaria such as dead man's fingers have colonised it, along with fish and starfish. It is popular with divers, but it is hazardous, and there have been several fatal accidents. Divers are encouraged to view the wreck from outside, and not to go inside it.

Location

Recorded position: 58.0388, 8.0237 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
Sea / ocean: Skagerrak
Nearest coast: Norway

Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.

OpenStreetMap

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article MS Seattle (revision 1327360887), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “The wreck”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.

Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).