20/09/2013: Could this be the MV Ledra that sank in 1967 after running ground off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka?

The wreck is just couple of Kilometers off shore. Here the surge and the visibility had to be bad.

We are surprised to the conditions not so bad as expected. However the wreck is a mass of general obliteration as one would expect in these rough shallows.

As many of the other ships we have dived inshore this ship too is large. It spreads over a large area perhaps over 100M in length. However, very Interestingly this ship differs from others in one key aspect.

Its power plant.

Usually we find boilers and the crankshaft of a compound steam engine. This is not so. It seems to be a large marine diesel engine with an accompanying fuel tank. This is very interesting because the MV Ledra was also diesel powered!

The ship is so badly broken up that some of the hull has turned to reef. In some places it is impossible to tell which is which. After exploring the decrepit remnants of the bow area we had back towards the engine and yonder towards the stern. But suddenly the propeller shafts end almost fused into a reef. After a few puzzled seconds we realized that this reef is actually a layer of coral grown over a piece of hull. There should be more so we continue our swim roughly mapping a path along the shaft which now should be buried a few feet under us beyond our sight.

We are right! We suddenly see a large piece of metal that ends with the propeller shaft! However the propeller blades and the rudder are missing. They probably were salvaged, perhaps illegally.

Compared to other ship wrecks of Sri Lanka it is one of the least scenic ones. A diver who wishes to see clear blue water and marine life will be sorely disappointed here. However for the wreck enthusiast it is another interesting dive in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of the past.

This ship will remain such, until more evidence is recovered and her identity ascertained.