WRECKDIVING
Ghost Ships of the Baltic Sea
SCUBA presents exclusive excerpts from a lavish new shipwreck book , while Simon Rogerson meets its co-author and team leader Carl Douglas . Welcome to the Baltic as it ’ s never been seen before
The first lockdown saw the release of a unique book , strongly recommended for anyone who loves shipwrecks . It consists entirely of shipwrecks in the dark confines of the Baltic Sea , where the cold water and lack of shipworms has preserved the wrecks better than any other location in the world .
Ghost Ships of the Baltic Sea not only gives us the best photographs of some incredibly well preserved wrecks , it presents them as fine art , in a sumptuous treatment by publisher Max Ström . The paper , printing and hefty format allow the images to take centre stage , while text is run on separate pages . So the immediate effect of opening the book is an emotional response to the wreck photography by Jonas Dahm , while the detail and commentary is there for those who dig deeper .
I wanted to meet the people behind the book , so I attended a launch event at the Swedish embassy in London and met some of the dive team who had been working on the book . The team is led by Swedish businessman , wreck explorer and historian Carl Douglas , who is joined by his colleague , publisher Jeppe Wikström as we talk over coffee at a London hotel .
Carl is an avuncular man with a strong desire to share his enthusiasm for maritime history . He leads a team of deep wreck divers , all whom have been exploring the Baltic since the late Nineties . There are 10 of them , all using JJ closed circuit rebreathers on run times of up to three hours . What singles them out is the collaborative approach they make in ensuring their lead photographer records the wrecks at their best .
“ All the pictures in the book are by Jonas ,” Carl says . “ I can take pictures , but over time it became clear that Jonas is in another league . He is by far the best diver I have ever seen , supremely at ease underwater .”
The photographs stand out from most deep wreck images because of the precision of their lighting , and their remarkable clarity . The team will often revisit a site until they get the optimum conditions . The pictures are taken on the latest , high-spec cameras , using the lowest possible ISO settings so that the image carries as much detail as possible . How exactly this is achieved is a closely guarded mystery ... how it is achieved at 100m plus is nothing short of miraculous .
Carl is ultra-protective of the wrecks featured in the book . “ With a lot of the shipwrecks here , you will notice we don ’ t speak a lot about where they are ,” he says . “ Our running joke is that all the depths and locations will appear in our mythical ‘ last book ’. We take our responsibility to preserve our heritage in a very serious way .”
His determination to keep the positions secret even led to his team being reported to the Swedish Police for not sharing the location of one of their key discoveries , the wreck of the Svärdet [ Sword ]. Sweden ’ s antiquities department had asked for the location , and Carl refused because a governmental agency wouldn ’ t have been able to keep it secret . “ We have a law in Sweden that everything not specifically made secret is open , and you can request documents ,” Carl says . “ However , the initial paragraph in Sweden ’ s antiquities law says that it ’ s everyone ’ s responsibility to protect their heritage ... so that ’ s our position .”
“ That was a case of the conflict between the older generation and us , the newer generation . Today we have excellent relations with almost everybody in the marine archaeology and antiquities world . We have found a way to co-exist .”
So now the book is out , and available for a relatively low price , as both publisher and authors want as wide a readership as possible . But what will Carl , Jonas and their team of divers do with their time ? Needless to say , they will continue diving in their Baltic back yard .
“ We visit moments of history ,” says Carl . “ On one of our favourite wrecks , the Aachen , there ’ s a clock on the wall that stopped exactly at the time of the sinking . In the picture where you can see the insignia of rank in the captain ’ s cabin , and his hat . It becomes alive in a way that ’ s quite unique to the Baltic .
“ Every shipwreck is unique ; each has its own story waiting to be told . The photos help us remember the people lost when the ship went down , but they also serve as a way of exploring our own relationship with the sea .”
SCUBA presents a selection of images from Ghost Ships of the Baltic Sea , with captions adapted from the original text
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