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Welcome to the Porkkala Wreck Park

Index picture of Alko wreck
Alko, a 19th century trade ship wreck

Porkkala peninsula reaches towards the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland and Estonia like no other place on the continental Finland. Thus, the waters around Porkkala have always been of significant strategic value for the various Navies trying to control the Gulf. Likewise, it was the decision point for the merchant vessels, as whether to trust on a local pilot and venture deep into the coastal archipelago routes, providing shelter from the storms or whether to brave the open sea and hope for the best. The treacherous waters with thousands of rocks and hundreds of islands often got the better of both. Hence, the dozens of historical wrecks lying on the small area of just a few square miles.

The lack of Teredo Navalis (a wood eating sea worm) in the waters of the Gulf of Finland has enabled the survival of thousands of wooden wrecks, dating from the late medieval times up to the 20th century. Most of these wrecks are within reach of recreational divers in terms of depth and distance from the shore. As a consequence, the wrecks have suffered some “diver wear” similarly to coral reefs in many popular dive destinations. Therefore, Finland’s Maritime Archaeological Society and its member associations like dive club Nousu ry have launched the Porkkala Wreck Park, together with the Finland Heritage Agency to protect the wrecks, by enabling easier access and more informed experience for the divers visiting the wrecks.

Information board depicting the wreck and naming its visible details

The blog on this website serves as a documentation repository and discussion board for the project, while building the Porkkala Wreck Park. Visitors should always check it out for the latest information regarding mooring, guide lines or other park facilities.

The wrecks section contains an up to date list of all currently facilitated wrecks, as well as specific information pages of each wreck. This is where you find both: historical information about the wreck and important facts for safe dive planning as well.

All diving activities are carried out by diver’s personal risk only!

On our location pages, one can find more information and map links about the area, dive operators and transportation & accommodation facilities. All information therein is maintained by our volunteer’s best efforts only and should not be relied upon as the only source of data. Thus, we accept no responsibility what so ever, over the information provided herein or linked from other sites.

Porkkala Wreck Park project has no paid employees, but is fully carried out by volunteers from Finnish Maritime Archaeological Society and Nousu ry. Finland Heritage Agency and Finnish Cultural Foundation have sponsored the project. Other affiliated organizations with logos listed below, have supported the project by giving recommendations, permissions or expressed their support by other means. Special thanks go to the numerous volunteers helping to realize the project.

Träskö project contact information to which all observations about the wrecks or park facilities should be sent is: eMail: info@wreckpark.eu and SMS: +358 44 920 1647

Suomenkielinen informaatio, aineisto ja keskustelu löytyy toistaiseksi vain Porkkalan Hylkypuiston Facebooksivuilta: https://www.facebook.com/hylkypuisto/