Hellsmouth Diving and Shipwreck Company Home Page

Hellsmouth®️

The narrow stretch of water that separates Caithness from the Orkney Islands in the Far North of Scotland is officially known as the Pentland Firth. However, due to the ferocious tides, currents and winds that are a feature of the area, the Pentland Firth has become known to generations of sailors as 'Hellsmouth' and is the graveyard of countless numbers of ships.

The Hellsmouth Diving and Shipwreck Company aims to provide historical and diving information on some of these vessels and the many others wrecked off the rugged and exposed East coast of Caithness.

Latest Updates:

20 January 2022: Minor update to the listing for the Isabella(2) which was lost in 1918.

11 January 2022: Minor update to the listing for the John wrecked near Reay in 1771.

8 October 2021: Updated with the tragic story of the loss of the Wick registered fishing boat, Margaret, which hit a mine in 1917.

3 January 2021: Updated with the tragic story of the Aberdeen trawler George Robb which sank at Duncansby Head in 1959.

17 August 2020: Entry for the wreck of the Vicksburg updated from information supplied by Mr Jimmy McGeachy.

12 April 2020: The previous entry for Camba has been removed and replaced with entry for the Pampa which is the correct name for the wreck concerned.

10 April 2020: Latest update includes information and photo of the fishery protection vessel, Freya, which sank off Clyth in 1959.

4 April 2020: Latest update includes information on the Belgian steam trawler, Neptune, which sank in Freswick Bay in 1928.

For update history please click here.

Gallery - A selection of the best underwater photos.

Forth-coming expeditions: Dives planned to find the wrecks of the Korall, Jorgen Bugge and Croma in the near future. Also planning a return to the Thyra and the Sudero wreck sites, to carry out further exploration.

Latest featured underwater video - The Rein.