Polish diver dead on ORP 'Delfin' shipwreck in the Baltic Sea, 21st of August 2020

[Hiszpan]

Śmiertelny wypadek nurkowy na wraku ORP Delfin

Google translate (with corrections):

'On Thursday, August 20, 2020, there was a fatal diving accident in the waters of the Bay of Puck. During the dive conducted on the wreckage of the Polish ship ORP Delfin, the diver ventured into the wreckage from which he did not manage to get out in time.

From the information we have obtained, we know that the diving participants are Poles living abroad who spent their holidays in the country. They left Jastarnia for diving to the Delfin wreck and were equipped with a recreational configuration - a wet suit and a single 15-liter cylinder.

One of the dive participants ventured into the wreckage. Unfortunately, he did not put down the linework to protect himself and be able to find his way back. Moving down the staircase, he reached the lower deck. Visibility inside the wreckage was very poor and there were problems with the return.

The partner of the diver trapped inside the Dolphin surfaced and help was called immediately. The second vessel left Jastarnia, and after several minutes a search operation was carried out on the wreckage. Unfortunately, at that moment visibility on Delfina was zero and the missing man could not be found.

The emergency services were also notified about the accident. A SAR unit arrived, carrying out a standard surface search operation. Unfortunately, also to no avail. The action was stopped at 21.30.

The search was resumed the next day. A unit with a diving team set out from Jastarnia, which found the body of the missing diver and brought it to the surface.'

 

[Hiszpan]

From FB chatter about the details of the rescue attempt:

'...two people entered the wreckage and swam in the room where the diver died in order to find him shortly after being notified that there was a problem. Unfortunately, in zero visibility, he was not found. There was also no sign of bubbles or movement - unfortunately, he was no longer alive. The SAR and other services arrived later. The search was also attempted later, but by a different technique, neither was successful. It was not until the next day that the body was recovered by the diver who on the first day tried to find the missing person on the second level of the wreck in zero visibility...'

And some first hand experience on diving this wreck:

'...this wreck only appears to be easy. Once, many years ago, I made the same mistake - I did not lay the linework, because I am such a wreck diving champion and a top-notch diver in general, full trimix ‍ I swam to the end, I made a turn on the spot and it was the end of visibility, because with the helicopter turnaround I pulled everything off with my fins. I think that the experience (also the tank setup - twinset) saved me because, after the first shot of high blood pressure and cold sweat, I took two deep breaths and calmly started looking for my way. The fact that I was making messing the visibility even more by dragging my hand along the wall, didn't matter anymore, because I couldn't see the light of my own flashlight anyway. This way I swam through two rooms.
I left.
I have never entered a wreck without laying the linework again.
Such a story as a warning...'

Photo of the wreck underwater. photo by Andrzej Dugi Rutkowiak.

Picture of the ship itself, still under the previous name T-31.

The ship is a former American Navy YMS (Yard Minesweeper) Mk II. Jacques-Yves Cousteau's 'Calipso' ship was based on a similarly built trawler purchased from the British Navy.
The wreck lies in a maximum depth of 21m and the top deck starts at 12.6m.
ORP Delfin - Nurkowanie Jolly Diver

 

[Jack Hammer]

I think its unfortnfortunate how many divers don't seem to understand the importance of or simply don't want to be bothered by running a line for penetration dives inside of a wreck. Special thanks to the recovery divers.

 

[John the Pom]

This is reminiscent of the deaths on the wreck "Himma" that occurred almost 20 years ago off Sydney, Australia - again divers entering a compartment and stirring up silt to produce complete blackout conditions.

 

[Fibonacci]

Also similar to a fatality here in Victoria on the J2 Submarine in the late 1990's, experienced divers entered the forward area of the enclosed wreck without lines, got silted up and disoriented, became separated, one ran out of air at 40m and perished.

Diving Fatality in a Submarine – Dive Magazine
J2 Broken Submarine Dive Site - The Scuba Doctor

 

[Hiszpan]

Also similar to a fatality here in Victoria on the J2 Submarine in the late 1990's, experienced divers entered the forward area of the enclosed wreck without lines, got silted up and disoriented, became separated, one ran out of air at 40m and perished.

Diving Fatality in a Submarine – Dive Magazine
J2 Broken Submarine Dive Site - The Scuba Doctor

I admire Paul's composure and intelligent way of extending his decompression spent underwater by holding breath at 3m for 1 minute. An example of a very experienced diver thinking outside of the box.

 

[poseident]

It's tragic when divers don't appreciate the risks of even simple penetrations...

There was an incident on Guam many years ago where three relatively experienced divers planned a nighttime penetration of the Tokai Maru wreck in Apra Harbor. They'd done several daylight dives and the speculation was they thought they all knew the wreck well enough not to need lines. They were found just inside the wreck, in a wide-open room. So what happened? There was a fairly strong earthquake that night, and the best anyone can figure is that this probably scared the bejeezus out of them, plus the viz would have gone to zero.

The reel isn't there to replace proper planning and preparation. The reel IS your preparation for the unexpected.

My condolences to the deceased diver.

 

[tech_diver]

There was a time when it was an actual technique called 'progressive penetration.' You penetrate a wreck little by little without reels and learn your way around the interior.

They have a different name for that technique now.

 

[Fibonacci]

There was a time when it was an actual technique called 'progressive penetration.' You penetrate a wreck little by little without reels and learn your way around the interior.
They have a different name for that technique now.

When you think about it, that's how the President Coolidge in Vanuatu and the Truk Lagoon wrecks are dived... you always follow an experienced dive guide... I saw no lines laid.