In a rare find, a century-old shipwreck was discovered by a scuba diving team along 30 km north of the Bheemunipatnam coast, possibly near the dreaded ‘Santhapalli rocks’

For years now, the fishermen of Bheemunipatnam feared venturing into a particularly zone, about 12 km inside the sea. They believed it was doomed; a place where ghostly spirits lived deep in the fathoms of the Bay of Bengal and no boats returned safe. So when scuba diver Balaram Naidu and dive master Anil Kumar set off on December 21 morning into the same waters of the sea, they were warned, requested and told stories of deaths by the local fishermen. Their forefathers had warned them of something mysterious inside the waters there.

But Balaram was on a mission to unearth this mystery, which he had been searching for over three years now. And that day, his years of efforts paid off as his stumbled upon a rare find of a shipwreck. The last visible remains of a century-old cargo ship were discovered 30 km along the Bheemunipatnam coast towards the north and 10-12 km inside the sea. “We first spotted the deck plates and a little further ahead were the keel and then we saw the furnace. The shaft was de-linked from the furnace. We couldn’t spot the propeller though. To my surprise, the depth of the sea in that area was just about six metres and had incredible visibility!” says Balaram, who runs the firm Livein Adventures that conducts scuba diving activities in the city from the past three years. The shipwreck was surrounded in a 500-metre radius and had plenty of aqua marine life.

Interestingly, historians point out to an area in the sea located north of Bheemunipatnam known as the ‘Santhapalli rocks’, which was the most vulnerable zone for ships due to its dangerous rocky sea bed. “Many ships have sunk there because of the rocky areas inside the waters. Most wrecks were recorded from this area. Spotting the dangers of this area, the British built a light house at the Santhapalli coast in 1840,” says historian Edward Paul. In fact, there is much to be studied all along the same area in the coast which would probably open up many underwater sites for tourism.

While the probable cause of the sinking of the cargo ship, its origin and history need to be further explored and still remain a mystery, the scuba diving team is thrilled. According to them, this rare find can catapult Visakhapatnam to one of the top scuba diving destinations in the mainland of the country. “This particular shipwreck holds a treasure trove of aqua marine life. We saw parrot fish, moray eel, lion fish, turtles and spotted sponge corals in the area. The visibility was excellent and a scuba diver’s delight,” says Balaram.

It takes about an hour on a boat from Bheemunipatnam coast to reach the ship wreck site from where a 45-minute scuba diving session unravels this rare mystery of a ship wreck.

“Many tourists from Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and other northern cities like Indore are heading to Vizag this season to explore the waters for scuba diving. This find of a ship wreck has opened up a huge potential for turning Vizag into a top scuba diving destination,” says Balaram.

Livein Adventures has a team of instructors certified by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) who take divers under water. With diving depths ranging from 14 metres (for first-time divers) to 40 metres (for certification), the experience offers a stunning peek into the depths of the Bay of Bengal with the duration lasting up to an hour.

While the Andamans, Puducherry, Lakshwadeep and Goa are some of the popular scuba diving destinations in India, it is only now that Visakhapatnam is standing out as a place for scuba diving, thanks to the rich aqua-marine life, clear water visibilities and recent discovery of shipwreck.