Sunken British submarine, discovered twice

Photo: Erakogu

The last week but one, heritage conservationists and border guards took a dive to the wreck of a submarine found in Estonian waters. Resurfacing with full conviction of this being British war monument HMS E-18 – the vessel already visited, in 2009, by pirating Swedish history fans.

Even though officially proven by sonar photo shot, this year, by Estonian Maritime Administration scan ship, and by state officials doing the recent diving, uninvited guests had been on board the wreck four years earlier.

Ironically, due to legislative loops and feebleness of the state in protecting heritage held in our waters, newspapers have been publishing the findings with ample photo coverage before Estonian state officials ever knew its location.

Not to mention that the relatives of those perished have even furnished a memorial plaque, at Holy Spirit (Pühavaimu) Church, dedicated by a grandiose ceremony. Even so, the weekly newspaper which covered the story in great detail, four years ago, never mentioned that the historical find came about by illegal activities in Estonia’s economic zone. But this is precisely what happened with E-18, sent to the Baltic Sea with a larger flotilla, by Sir Winston Churchill, to support forces of Czarist Russia – tasked with hindering trips to Sweden by German iron ore ships and to sink enemy vessels in WW1. 

The submarine, setting sail from Tallinn harbour 97 years ago, with 30 Brits and three Russians as crew, never returned. Its fate – presumably hitting a mine – remaining a mystery for close to a century.

According to police officer Ivar Treffner, fresh from the wreck, the submarine is well preserved: sitting on solid rock, the sole testimony to tragedy of war being its broken conning tower. At initial observation, nothing indicates a mine explosion; even so, to make a concrete claim further research is needed. Yesterday, Heritage Board officially notified UK Embassy, via Ministry of Defence; today, a press release was issued to inform the public. Unofficially, Brits knew for years.

Up to now, searching for and mapping of wrecks in Estonian waters has largely been performed by Estonian Maritime Museum and some single enthusiasts teaming up to act; only in these past few years, National Heritage Board has taken an interest towards things underwater. To what extent hobby divers from home and abroad have searched and vandalised wrecks, nobody knows. The state hands having been tied by lack of law and surveillance capabilities.

Of the fact of someone searching for E-18, Estonian state became aware as survey vessel MV Triad, sailing under Swedish flag, was discovered near Isle of Hiiumaa, in October 2009, having asked no permission to work in Estonian waters. The vessel belonging to marine research company MMT had just finished Nord Stream gas pipe research in neutral waters and lingered, for the third day running, in Estonian economic zone as a pirate.

Maritime Museum’s underwater archaeologist Vello Mäss recalls how the vessel «happening» to be in our waters initially answered, upon query, that they are looking for a lost life raft; afterwards they found other ways to beat about the bush. Finally, the Swedes admitted to be looking for a sunken vessel. After a border guard plane performed a flight over the heads of Swedes busy, at sea, with underwater apparatus, the vessel left Estonian waters full steam.

The case resulted in official report by Border Guard to Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding illegal activities in our economic zone, culminating in a diplomatic note filed to Kingdom of Sweden in December of that year.

Back then, Maritime Museum managed to clarify the case: survey ship Triad, belonging to Swedish company Marin Mätteknik AB involved in underwater research, was searching for a submarine under leadership of a well-known Swedish underwater researcher Carl Douglas. According to Vello Mäss, data on possible location of the wreck were for years pursued by aircraft engineer Darren Brown, resident of Australia, whose great-grandfather served on board of E 18 as signalist and had missed the vessels final trip due to sickness. 

By examining WW1 time mine barrage courses, the Swedes took a mere hour to locate the wreck. Whatever the history lovers did there, diving for three days straight, Estonian state does not know. The Swedes never disclosed the coordinates of the wreck, citing company secrets and the need to protect the sunken vessel from looters.

Two weeks ago, Estonian border guard vessel PVL-101 Kindral Kurvits headed West, from Hiiumaa, some 20 nautical miles from the island. The reason: sonar images presented by Maritime Administration with silhouette of the submarine clearly seen.

As testified by Mr Treffner, official at Border Guard naval surveillance and diver at survey group Badewanne Team, together with heritage conservators they were convinced the submarine is indeed E-18, as earlier announced by Swedish media.

According to Heritage Board adviser Maili Roio, involved in the operation, search for object of cultural value as hobby has undergone stricter regulation by National Heritage Act since 2011. «With searching for underwater monuments, two activities need to be differentiated: search as a hobby, and search for scientific purposes; the latter falls under underwater archaeological research,»  explained Ms Roio. «For hobby searches, a licence needs to be secured from Heritage Board.»

Arbitrary actions are now better restricted by Estonian law, prohibiting anchoring, trawling, dredging, and dumping of solid substances in protected zone for underwater monuments. By use of radar systems, it is now easier for Heritage Board and police to keep an eye on it all.

Do Brits have a right to their warship? Heritage Conservation Act makes no difference between vessels of other states and those belonging to private persons. Pursuant to the law, form of ownership shall not change with passage of time; should it prove impossible to determine the owner, the wreck belongs to the state. Now, Heritage Board is taking speedy steps to proclaim wreck of E-18 a maritime grave and guarantee peace of grave.

HMS E-18

•    Completed at Vickers ship works in spring of 1915; sent to service at North Seat during WW1.

•    Captain: Robert Halahan; perishing crew consisting of 30 British and 3 Russian marines.

•    Member of British submarine flotilla operating in Baltic Sea, totalling eight vessels in 1915–1918.

•    At eve of May 25^th, 1916 departed to battle from Tallinn, never returning. Presumably, the vessel hit a buoyant mine near Hiiumaa.

•    Length 54.86 metres, speed 15 knots on surface and 10 knots underwater; diving depth 58 metres.

•    Armed with 10 torpedoes, a cannon on the deck.

Source: Vello Mäss