Dive site
MS Mikhail Lermontov
Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand
- Typical depth
- 36 m
- Type
- Wreck
- Level
- Technical
Notes
Soviet cruise liner that struck rocks and sank in 1986. 176 m on her starboard side — the largest divable cruise-ship wreck in the world.
Marine life
- Other
- largest divable cruise-ship wreck in the world — 176 m on her starboard side
- Reef fish
- blue cod, butterfly perch, tarakihi, wrasse
- Cephalopods
- octopus in the lifeboat davits
- Invertebrates
- jewel anemones, sea pens, crayfish
Wreck
- Vessel
- MS Mikhail Lermontov
- Class
- Ivan Franko-class passenger cruise liner
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Sunk
- 1986 — struck rocks off Cape Jackson under harbour-pilot conduct, 16 Feb 1986; sank in Port Gore
- Length
- 176 m
- Penetration
- Possible — with training
Site features
- Wreck
- Penetration
- Deep Wreck
- Cold Water
- Drysuit Required
- Overhead Environment
- Historic
- Intact Superstructure
When to dive
- Best
- Nov–Apr
- Avoid
- Jun–Aug
Marlborough Sounds, top of New Zealand's South Island. NZ summer (Nov–Apr) gives the calmest seas and warmest water. Drysuit territory year-round; surface conditions in Port Gore can be exposed.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 5–15 m
- Water temp
- 11–17 °C
- Current
- Moderate
- Access
- Open access
- Min cert
- Advanced Open Water + drysuit + wreck specialty for external dives on the upper hull; full wreck-penetration training and stage gas for the cabin decks, swimming pool and bridge — the wreck is a maze, with documented diver fatalities.
Location
41.0833° S, 174.0167° E
Dive clubs that visit this site
2 operators list this site on their website
- Global DiveAuckland (operates to Marlborough), New Zealand · Dive centre[source]
- Go Dive Pacific (formerly Go Dive Marlborough)Picton, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand · Dive centre[source]
Sources
Curated from 1 source
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