Naval Shipworm (Teredo navalis)

Shipwrecks are great! They are about the best dive sites that you can dive to. They stir the imagination, provide a dose of history on the side, and most of the time have plenty of amazing stuff to look at as well! And the older the wreck is, the better. The problem with most really old ship wrecks is that most of them have deteriorated and all but disappeared a long time ago. This unfortunate state of affairs is largely caused by the naval shipworm. Because the shipworm eats wood.

Here is an example of shipworm damage. On the left is a frame from the Danish ship Sophia, that sunk in 1645. Notice the damage caused by the shipworm. On the right, a well preserved frame from the Vasa. This photo is taken by myself at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.

THREE GREAT 18th CENTURY WRECKS

The Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea is truly a wreck diver's paradise. For centuries, trade ships have sailed along the coastal waters on route between Russia and central Europe, despite the Gulf of Finland being a dangerous, stormy sea filled with treacherous, often uncharted rocks that are hidden just under the surface.

Along the centuries, storms in the rocky, unpredictable waters of the Baltic have sent literally hundreds, if not thousands of ships to the bottom of the sea. In the 18^th century alone, dozens of ships were claimed by the sea near the Finnish coast. Many of the wrecks have already been found, and even more still lie at the bottom of the sea, waiting to be discovered.