19th-Century Dutch Schooner Discovered on the Floor of the Gulf of Finland

A Russian diving expedition has discovered and identified the wreck of a 19th-century Dutch schooner resting on the seabed of the Gulf of Finland near Seskar Island.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by MaryannaNesina, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

A view of the Gulf of Finland

A reconnaissance diving team has discovered a sunken 19th-century Dutch vessel on the seabed of the Gulf of Finland near Seskar Island, the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) announced on its website.

The schooner was found by chance while the expedition was searching for Soviet torpedo boats, expedition leader Konstantin Bogdanov said. The wreck lies at a depth of 30 meters directly beneath the modern shipping lane used by vessels traveling to the Port of St. Petersburg.

The ship was identified by its bell as the two-masted Dutch schooner Concurrent.

Ship Lost While Carrying Coal to St. Petersburg

Historian Yevgeny Paradeyev helped reconstruct the vessel's history.

The 189-ton merchant sailing ship was built in the Dutch town of Veendam. On May 9, 1874, while transporting a cargo of coal from Newcastle, England, to St. Petersburg, the schooner became trapped in ice and eventually sank.

All six crew members-five Dutch sailors and one Dane-survived and managed to reach Kronstadt safely.

Wreck Damaged During Post-War Mine Clearance

According to Bogdanov, the vessel sustained significant damage after World War II when mine-clearing operations were conducted along the shipping channel. During the operation, the wreck became entangled in a cable, destroying all of its superstructures and breaking both masts.

The hull has been damaged, the stern is heavily broken, and the ship's wheel was torn away and thrown behind the vessel.

Wooden Artifacts Exceptionally Well Preserved

Despite the damage, many of the schooner's wooden structures remain remarkably well preserved.

Researchers explained that the Gulf of Finland provides unusually favorable conditions for preserving wood. Unlike iron, which corrodes over time, wooden objects often survive for much longer because of the gulf's low salinity, which significantly slows the deterioration of organic materials.