Hel Peninsula and Gulf of Gdansk Wrecks

Operational Dive Checks

• Confirm the wreck appears on the current 2026 or later official permit-exempt list, or identify the exact authority and permit needed. Some sites are prohibited or protected regardless of their attractiveness.
• Confirm departure filing with the harbor master, navigational restrictions and skipper competence. A passenger ferry is never a substitute for a wreck dive boat.
• Demand the measured upper-structure depth, seabed, planned maximum depth, gas and no-decompression or technical decompression obligation. A wreck beginning shallow may slope well beyond certification.
• Use appropriate thermal protection, buoyancy, redundancy, dive lights, cutting devices, surface marker, team separation plan and retrieval methods. Extra training is required for wreck penetration, overheads, trimix and decompression.
• Expect potentially hazardous nets, lines, unstable wreck metal, silt-out, marine traffic, currents, low light and possible wartime remnants. Do not touch munitions or remove artifacts.
• Check IMGW Baltic meteorological service marine warnings, site-specific water/visibility, sea state and forecast before embarkation; allow a non-diving fallback day.
• Confirm boat oxygen, communications, first aid, emergency recovery, evacuation plans, instructor/guide ratios and realistic surface intervals.

The Maritime Office: general wreck-diving safety recommendations is safety guidance. The separate July 2026 Maritime Office: Order No. 18 of 16 July 2026 and current Maritime Office page establish permission and reporting requirements.

Call 112 for a medical emergency, or involve MRCC Gdynia for an incident at sea. On the vessel, activate the skipper's emergency plan, recover the patient safely, administer high-concentration oxygen if appropriately trained and equipment is available, and follow medical dispatch instructions. Avoid further diving and avoid flying pending specialist clearance if decompression illness is suspected.

Gdynia has a dedicated maritime and tropical medicine hospital with a hyperbaric treatment clinic for conditions including decompression sickness and gas embolism; the existence of the facility does not guarantee immediate chamber access or a safe transfer time. The clinic is in Gdynia, and the operator should preplan SAR and hospital routing. Emergency/consultation clinic number reported as +48 58 699 86 55, but use emergency dispatch first. University Centre for Maritime and Tropical Medicine: hyperbaric clinic; Polish Maritime Search and Rescue: MRCC Gdynia. Duty contact: University hospital directory.

Many Baltic wrecks are archaeological sites and some are war graves. Do not enter any prohibited wreck, disturb remains, collect artifacts, scrape historic structures or anchor without operator/authority approval. The maritime heritage authority's requirements can differ from permission to make an external recreational dive. Verify the up-to-date prohibited-wreck materials with the Maritime Office: recreational wreck diving documents and heritage searching rules with National Maritime Museum: underwater cultural heritage.

Around beaches and Puck Bay, protect dunes, bird habitat and shallow vegetation; never chase or enter the water to interact with seals. WWF Poland recommends keeping at least 30 m away from a resting seal and contacting the Blue Patrol on +48 795 536 009 if assistance appears necessary. WWF Poland: safe distance from seals on beaches. Always respect bathing-water closures and cyanobacteria reports from Polish Chief Sanitary Inspectorate: bathing-water service.