Diving on the wreck site
Abille lies on a flat seabed, on level Keen at 49m.
It’s place 0.5 Nautical mile, southwest of the entrance head of the fishing port in Hel.
The wreck has a permanent downline mounted to the highest point of the wreck - being the roof of the wheelhouse at 36m depth. Regrettably the line is often broken at the surface level in the summer due to increased traffic during the season
Abilla is a tugboat kept in one piece, measuring approx. 38m in length, 9m wide
The bow of a ship has two anchors on each side. On the foredeck at 40m you can find the windlass and a broken skylight through which one can look inside the wreck
The central part of the vessel consists of a quarter-deck on which the aforementioned wheelhouse can be found. The roof of the wheelhouse has no thatch, its shape is drawn out by construction elements and edges of the outer walls of the wheelhouse.
On the right and left sides of the quarterdeck you can find multiple skylights and entrances.
Behind the structure is an empty space leftover from the funnel which collapsed in 2017. After some time it fell to the bottom of the sea and is now lying by the port side a short distance from the wreck.
Sadly time has had its effect on the smokestack and the once glorious piece is disappearing in front of our eyes.
Looking towards the stern you will be able to see the engine room covered with slanting skylights with glass portholes through which you can peek inside but you’ll have a better view from companion with the stairs leading down to the engines
Behind the engine room, on the main deck there is another ladderway, now collapsed, leading to the storage room of the tugboat. Behind the ladderway is a fragment of the flat deck ending with the semicircular edge of the stern.
The wreck is heavily covered with silt but there are no loose nets.
Occasionally there is a mild current on the site
History
„Up to this Day, we couldn’t find the origin of the wreck and its original name. Recently the theory was that it’s a wreck of a dutch tugboat Abilla, which sank in 1936. But, morę likely these arę the remains of a German or French vessel. Another theory mentions the year 1945 in which the tugboat aided a ship in anchorage at the Hel roadstead during a storm and then it sank on the way back. During that time a tugboat Abeille 8 disappeared from the records which is in favor of this theory.
Just as Abilla disappeared into the sea, the truth of its origin and name is lost to the pages of history
Will we ever be able to find out the name of the wreck that is magnetizing divers exploring the gulf of Gdańsk?
Who knows what is in storę for Abilla."
Source: https://divers24.pl/16-holownik-abille/
Technical specifications
Vessel Type: Tugboat
Length: Approx. 38 m
Width: Approx. 9 m
Drive: Steam engine
Text by: Kamil Stankiewicz
Translation: Szymon Rydzewski
If you have additional info on the ship or would like to correct the Information on the site - please contact us
