Experts examined a ship sunk at a depth of about 45 m in the White Sea Throat. Presumably this is the Norwegian steamer “Lysaker”. The work took place during the joint expedition of the Russian Geographical Society and the Ludi Morya Foundation "Remember the War".
“The task of the complex scientific research expedition ‘Remember the War’ is to survey and identify objects sunk in different historical periods: boats, submarines, ships, airplanes. The project is in its fourth season in the waters of the Barents Sea and the White Sea. In just three seasons of the expedition, 49 objects were found," said Natalya Belyakova, Director of the Expeditionary and Tourism Department. “This year we have already identified the wreckage location of the ship ‘Pomorye’ which was blown up in a minefield in 1941. The information obtained as a result of underwater exploration will be preserved and passed on to descendants thanks to the digital encyclopedia developed by the RGS and the Ludi Morya Foundation.”
Exploration of the bottom of the White Sea. Photo: press service of the Ludi Morya Foundation
The work on clarifying the coordinates of the lost steamer, as well as its examination, was carried out by the employees of the marine engineering company “Fertoing” using a multipath sonar. Based on the results of underwater exploration, a 3D model of the object will be created, which will be posted on the GIS portal "Russia – from sea to sea" (eng. “Russia: From Sea to Sea”) .
Before starting work at sea, the researchers studied archival materials – for example, the database of the Russian State Archive of the Navy. According to it, the ship was lost in the White Sea Throat on June 23, 1915, having been blown up on a German anchor mine while en-route from England to Arkhangelsk. The explosion tore the hull into two parts, which are located at a depth of about 45 m at a distance from each other. There are two cargo holds filled with coal in the bow. Military cargo was delivered to Russia from Great Britain by sea to Arkhangelsk. This journey took about two weeks. The ships were traveling unguarded.
Part of the expedition team "Remember the war". Photo: press service of Ludi Morya Foundation
In 2017, the specialists from the RGS Underwater Research Center, with the support of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, began exploration in the White Sea Throat. This is the strait that separates the Tersky Coast of the Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk Region from the Winter Coast in the Arkhangelsk Region. The searchers assumed that they would be able to find a lot of sunken ships in this area – there has always been intensive navigation here, as there were sea trade routes.
The research expedition "Remember the War" is supported by the Hydrographic Service of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. It is aimed at searching, clarifying the location as well as examining ships and vessels sunk in different historical eras.