Erlangen *** The wreck of the 3,500 tonne German ship Erlangen lies 1.5km west of Iruvai Kandu. It was named after the German city of Erlangen amd was travelling from Colombo to Hamburg with general cargo when it was wrecked in 1894. No lives were reported lost. Many of the remains are on the reef top above 15 metres. The remainder is over the edge to 50 metres. Diving: The remains of the bow section, including anchors,
anchor chain, anchor winch, davits and steel plates from the hull lie on the reef top and
are heavily encursted in coral. A section of ribbing proptrudes Fish life is interesting with many juvenile wrasse in the shallows and nudibranchs feeding on the coral algae. There are black-saddled coral grouper, as well as emperor. Oriental and harlequin sweetlip are common and there are a couple of giant sweetlip roaming the mid sections. Black snapper swim freely around the wreck. Diving hints: This is an excellent wreck dive but it is easy to be tempted to go to great depths. A safe plan is to dive first to where the ship is broken in half and view the remains from there, then return slowly back up the reef where a safety stop can be comfortably made while looking over the shallower parts of the wreck.
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from the reef between
15 and 20 metres and makes an interesting backdrop for photogrpahs. The wreckage is about
30 metres wide. Over the years, the ship has broken in half at a depth of 30 to 35 metres
and the stern section is resting on its starboard side. The propeller is at a depth of
about 45 metres and among the stern are two boilers in about 35 metres.