Study of fauna on the wreck of the Birkenfels

This study is now part of the BEWREMABI research project if the Federal Science Policy.

This 156-m long bulk-ore carrier sank following a collision with another vessel in thick fog on 7 April 1966. The Birkenfels, which drew 6974 tonnes and was built in 1951, was carrying iron ore from Bremen to the Persian Gulf. The wreck, which lies around thirty miles off Zeebrugge, is within Belgium's exclusive economic zone in the North Sea. It has the advantage of being virtually intact and is lying flat on the bottom at a depth of 42 m at high tide. It is outside the shipping lanes and its distance from the coast ensures water with less sediment, which is more favourable for observation and under-water photography.

During thesel campaigns, a detailed chart of the wreck was produced using a multi-beam sonar. A set of images is available in this file (JPG, 321KB).

Image taken with a multi-beam sonar. [Fund for sand extraction, Belgian Ministry of Economics Affairs]

Samples are taken from horizontal and vertical flat surfaces of the wreck. Around 120 different species have been identified since the first (2001) campaign.

 Species identified on the wreck