Divers to uncover mystery of Narva-Jõesuu fishing wreck over 50 years on
A survey of a fishing boat wreck off Narva-Jõesuu, Ida-Viru County, is underway to uncover what happened when the vessel sank over half-a-century ago.
The wreck lies around 400 meters off Narva-Jõesuu beach in chest-deep water, making it easy for divers to locate and explore.
"What can actually be seen there depends very much on where the wind is coming from and what the weather is like, because visibility at the mouth of the Narva River varies a great deal. At present, only roughly five by two meters of the stern corner, from the starboard side, can be seen protruding from the sand. All the rest is under the sand, but the sand moves around here a lot, to get a picture of how labor-intensive it would be to raise this wreck," marine archaeologist Ivar Treffner told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
The boat sank in a storm in December 1971 with the loss of two crew members, making this a local tragedy which has yet to be fully solved, Narva-Jõesuu mayor Maksim Iljin explained.
"The community, the residents of Narva-Jõesuu, and among others also the relatives of the missing people, have been waiting for more than 50 years, on what actually happened to these people. The most ambitious plan is that we raise the sunken ship from there and start exhibiting it on the lighthouse grounds," he said.
The mayor put the cost of raising the vessel at at least €150,000.
Treffner agreed it would be a costly process.
"Bringing it out is one thing and in this whole process maybe even the cheapest part. After that it needs to be conserved and preserved and often such a wreck wants a separate building of its own. We are certainly not talking tens, we are talking hundreds of thousands," he said.
The marine archaeology work, set to continue until the end of the year, will not hamper a nearby pier construction project.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Marko Tooming
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'
