Mystery shipwreck emerges from the depths of the Baltic Sea

First evidence suggests the ship roamed the waters of the Baltic Sea in the 19th century.

A mysterious shipwreck, which had never been documented, has been found in the Baltic Sea by divers. The ship may date back to the 19th century, but it is not clear where it was journeying from and what it was carrying.

The Baltic underwater explorers are a non-profit organisation of divers based in the Åland Islands, between Stockholm and Helsinski. They have gone on many diving expeditions to look for ancient shipwrecks and artefacts below the surface of the Baltic Sea. Diver Jerry Wilhelmsson had been looking for the wreck of a completely different steamship in the same area of the Åland archipelago when he came across this shipwreck by accident.

It was located at a very shallow depth, some 20 metres underwater and extremely well preserved, a fact which surprised Wilhelmsson's colleague Magnus Melin: "Jerry was looking for another ship, we had not expected to find this type of wreck. I think this ship is special because it is very well preserved to be at this relatively shalow depth. It is also very richly decorated with a figurehead", he told IBTimes UK.

shipwreck Baltic sea — The shipwreck could date back to the 19th century Jerry Wilhelmsson - BUE

In addition to its figurehead, the ship is described as being 27 metre-long with anchor and hundreds of unopened bottles in several boxes onboard.

Mysterious identity

Despite the excitement generated by the find, the identity of the ship remains mysterious. The initial dives have suggested that it dates back to the 19th century. Interviewed by The Local, a marine archaeologist has corroborated this hypothesis, but the ship will need to be described in greater details, thanks to more extensive dives.

The mystery also deepens when it comes to what the bottles found in the wreckage contain. "In the cargo hold, there are several boxes with bottles. The content in these has not been analysed so far, so we can only speculate. Maybe the bottles contained some sort of wine," Melin said.

Until more thorough analysis are conducted, questions will remain about where the ship came from, why it was on a journey on the Baltic sea and when it sank.