Bell Island Mines, Newfoundland. Canada.

 

The Bell island Shipwrecks are some of the most well preserved World War II wrecks in the world. The ships, sunk by German U-boats in 1942 were carrying ore from the nearby mines to be processed as part of the allied war effort.

 

Whilst these wrecks are a destination of wreck divers worldwide, little is known of the mines, which have been flooded for many years. Late 2006 saw the first exploratory dive into these mines which has paved the way for future exploration.

The project will include a survey of the integrity of the mine's structure underwater and information on artifacts discovered. In the words of Steve Lewis of TDI who led the initial reconnaissance dive and will be the Project In-Water Team Leader, "the opportunities for exploration are endless." Lewis, a member of the exclusive Explorer's Club, explained: "The unique layout of No.2 mine, coupled with its vast size carry enormous promise for further development of Bell Island as a premier diving destination. The fact that there are four world-class wrecks in the bay 'downstream' of the mine simply adds to that promise."

 

Conception Bay is becoming one of the 'hottest' destinations in diving tourism due to the wrecks and exploration into the mines, a nine square mile complex abandoned long ago as a profitable source of iron ore, offers the prospect of a new lease of life for them and exciting new opportunities in the adventure tourism and sports industry. It is hoped that the exploration project will pave the way for development of a combination of diving the wrecks and the mines into the ultimate SCUBA package, to be launched in time for the 65th anniversary of the German U-Boat attacks in the Fall of 2007.

 

The mines are flooded with fresh water which is approximately 5ºC and the surface portion of the complex inside is an extremely cool and damp environment, which is likely to be exacerbated by outside temperatures as low as minus 20ºC during the planned dates of the project. The team of 19 cave divers (11) and support personnel (8), which will include prominent divers such as Phil Short, Steve Lewis, David Swatski and Doug Arnberg, are expected to spend long periods in the water or as surface support. Fourth Element is supplying their thermal protection.