ScapaMAP2: Marine Heritage Monitoring with High-Resolution Survey Tools, 2001-2006
Date 16 October 2006 - 20 October 2006
Event ID 1172546
Category Recording
Type Multi Beam Sonar Scan
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1172546
Multibeam sonar survey on board MV Anglia Sovereign recorded the remains of the light cruiser Sms Karlsruhe of the German High Seas Fleet. All four light cruisers lie on their side and are immediately recognisable as warships. The SMS Karlsruhe lies on her starboard side. On all four light cruiser wrecks, extensive salvage has taken place in the area of the engine rooms to remove non-ferrous metals. The sections fore and aft of the engine room remain relatively intact.
Significant changes to the wrecks are observed in the 2006 sonar data compared with ScapaMap data from 2001. The Surveys indicated that salvage work on the SMS Karlsruhe has left the hull in a more broken up condition than the other three light cruisers with the superstructure collapsed to the seabed and the hull badly broken up. Diver inspection of the bow area in 2006 indicated that access into the structure used to recover postcards in 2003 had become restricted indicating further settlement of the bow section of the wreck.
Information from Bobby Forbes (Sula Diving) 2006.
