The SS Kyarra is one of the English Channel’s most celebrated shipwrecks. Built in Scotland for the Australian United Steam Navigation Company, she served as a hospital ship during WWI before being torpedoed by UB-57 off Swanage on May 26, 1918.
Why Dive the SS Kyarra?
Resting upright with a slight port list at 30 metres (deck level around 24 metres), the Kyarra is an immense, atmosphere-packed wreck filled with maritime archaeology.
Key Highlights
- Cargo Holds: Divers still discover Victorian perfume bottles, medical glassware, and brass fittings buried in her sediment.
- Marine Life: Home to huge resident conger eels, ling, edible crabs, and swirling shoals of bib and pouting.
- Steam Boilers & Engine Room: Her towering boilers and triple-expansion steam engines remain largely intact.
Dive Plan & Conditions
- Slack Water Only: Dived exclusively during slack water out of Swanage Pier or Poole Harbour.
- Nitrox Recommended: Using Nitrox 32% provides valuable bottom time at her 26–30m working depth.
Marine Life to Spot at SS Kyarra (Swanage Liner Wreck)
- Conger Eels
- Edible Crabs
- Ling