Lost with a cargo of granite

The Arnold was a small wooden cargo vessel built in 1878 at the A&H Klassen shipyard in Halte and was owned by the brothers Strenge from Rhaudermoor. In November 1896 granite stones were loaded in Karlshamn (Sweden). The cargo was destined for Altona (Hamburg), but the vessel was caught in a storm. The vessel sailed close to the coastline to seek some shelter from the south-easterly winds , but hit a shoal of the Puttgarden Reef on the German island of Fehmarn in the night of the 15th November. The crew was rescued by a fisherman.

Erhard Schulz

A diver visiting the Puttgarden reef.

The length of the wreck is 18 meters and it lies at a depth of 4 meters. Little information about the ship (type, original size, etc.) is known.

The wreck is situated at a depth of 4 metres and thus a popular destination for recreational wreck divers. The bottom section of the hull is fairly well preserved. Due to currents the sedimentation varies greatly from being covered by sands and gravel to being uncovered as if brushed clean.

The granite blocks are still stacked as they were originally taken on board. All frames as well as parts of the outer planking and ceiling planking is visible, with the remains of a deckhouse abaft and of a mast in the front of the ships.

Oleksiy Konovalov

• Oppelt, I. (2019).
  Wracktauchen: Die schönsten Tauchplätze der Ostsee.
  Wetnotes.