Rob Kelly
Wreck Diving Brunei
Petchburi Bremen Wreck Diving
The Oldest Intact Wreck Dive in Pattaya
Gone Be Not Forgotten - The Bremen
The Petchburi Bremen, never heard of it right? Is it a new wreck dive site?... no. Has it only just being discovered?... no, its nearly 100 years old and no secret.. is there nothing left of it?.. definitely not!In fact there are many wreck dives in Pattaya, everyday dive operators head towards the HTMS Kut, HTMS Khram, HTMS Mataphon or The Hardeep.. if you google "Wreck Diving Thailand" you will rarely see any dive trips planned to this WWI era steamship wreck dive.
If Only It Sank Somewhere Else
So, when it is situated only a mere 30km from Pattaya, you might ask yourself why is this wreck not in the top ten visited dive sites for Wreck Diving Thailand? Lets take a look at the history and the facts to find out.The Petchburi Bremen sank in a channel of water that lays between Koh Khram Yai and Sattahip due to a fire in the engine room caused an explosion that damaged the hull resulting in the freighter sinking to the sea bed at 23-24 meters deep.
The fact is, we dont choose where ships sink and make wreck dives, the channel of water where the Bremen lies is notoriously hard to dive. Due to the fact it has strong currents, this is why the Bremen is not visited on a more regular basis. A lot of wrecks fall into this category not only for wreck diving in Thailand, but for wreck diving all around the world. When it come to real shipwrecks, they lay where they lay. Sometimes divers are lucky and the wrecks sink in a place that has optimal water conditions on the regular basis. But, more often than not, they sink in waters with strong current or really deep depths meaning recreational wreck divers simply can't visit whenever they want. Aside from having (as a basic level) and advanced open water divers license, its useful have also have a deep certification, some experience in currents and in some cases Technical diver training to enjoy Wreck Diving Thailand. Whatever your diver certification, planning your wreck dives around a nice big slack water window will yield the best possible dive in terms of visibility and relaxing water conditions.
When the tides are kind
The Petchburi Bremen needs a nice big slack water window to be enjoyed. When you visit at this time you will easily find her sitting up right in the sand, the bow and stern are largely intact and the middle of the ship accented with a sand bar nicely built up against her from the currents that run through her. Sadly, this middle area of the ship is quite damaged and broken, not due to the original explosion that caused her to sink, but instead by the bombing practice made on it by the Royal Thai Navy whom used her for demolition exercises for many years.Petchburi Bremen Facts
Ship Size: Length : 88.5m Breadth : 11.9m
Dive Site Depth: 19-24 metres.
Water Visibility: 6-20 metres.
Water Conditions:Channel makes for very strong currents.
Ship Built: George See beck AG shipyard, Bremerhaven, Germany
Rebirth: she was confiscated in 1917 by the Thais and renamed: KAEO SAMUD.
Final Voyage:Sank Sailing from Bangkok to Swatow on 27th Dec 1920 .
Nearly 100 Years Later
Nearly 100 Years after she sank, The Petchburi Bremen is now a spectacular artificial reef with amazing fish life is covered in corals, and soft sponges... this habitat houses many types of marine life, from Barracuda, to Moray eels, angelfish, tusk fish, and also some unique aquatic life rare to the area such as the ‘true’ Stone Fish and giant Black Sting Rays (some time’s referred to as The thorntail stingray or longtail stingray ) Some really nice photo opportunities are to be had on this wreck dive.Wreck diving Thailand for many years already, I have seen this wreck before but only a handful of times. Whenever I see a trip advertised, I will join it to see her again! Check out the pictures below from previous Bremen dives, and look out online in the future for the new ones!
