Dalaro and Stockholm Archipelago

Before Entry

• Confirm instructor/guide qualifications, dive-site authorization, cylinder contents, drysuit competence, cold-rated regulators, buoyancy and backup lighting.
• The municipality requires guided boat dives at protected Dalaro wrecks, a cultural-history briefing and at least 1 m separation from the wreck and surrounding seabed. It says not to swim over the hull. Do not enter the wreck or move material.
• Plan surface recovery, boat pickup, lost-buddy procedure, weather cancellations and emergency oxygen with the skipper. Choose a shallower training or nature dive if the visitor lacks current cold-water experience.
• Recreational and technical diving have different equipment, training, gas and decompression obligations. A wreck listed at 30 m is not an automatic Open Water dive.
• After diving, DAN suggests at least 12 hours before flying after a single no-stop dive, 18 hours after multiple dives and longer after decompression dives. These are minimum guidance, not a guarantee.
• Freedivers need a dedicated trained buddy and an independent rescue plan. Never hyperventilate or breath-hold dive alone. Snorkelers must stay in permitted swimming areas and avoid port traffic.

Region Stockholm identifies the hyperbaric-care service at Karolinska University Hospital, Solna and clinical guidance for possible diving injuries. This is not a claim that a chamber is continuously available for unscheduled walk-ins. For suspected decompression illness, arterial gas embolism, hypothermia, drowning or neurologic symptoms, call 112 immediately and follow emergency medical instructions. Describe the dive times, depths and gas. A local operator should have oxygen and evacuation procedures, but their actual readiness must be checked before the trip. Swedish medical advice for nonurgent issues is 1177 (from foreign-registered phones +46 771 1177 00). For a maritime distress call, use 112 or VHF channel 16 from a suitable equipped vessel. Do not independently transport a symptomatic diver to a distant chamber instead of activating EMS.

Historic wrecks that sank before 1850 are generally protected under Swedish heritage law, and some later wrecks can also be protected. The designated Dalaro areas are subject to legally specific no-dive/no-anchor orders except with granted permission. Do not collect artifacts, move structure, anchor on wrecks, tie off on timber, penetrate intact wrecks, or scrape the bottom with fins. Report suspected damage and new discoveries through maritime heritage authorities. The cold brackish Baltic supports valuable habitats but experiences eutrophication and occasional summer algae blooms. Check current beach-water advice, avoid swimming in conspicuously discolored or scummy water and respect Sandemar bird closures and no-boating areas. Never approach nesting birds or claim predictable seal sightings.