Ship Wreck Diving in Sri Lanka
In looking back into our history, we see that, Sri Lanka has had many foreign visitors in the likes of explorers, merchants, invaders and warring nations who used Sri Lanka and its shores. These activities, all carried out by ships have no doubt left many ship wrecks of all sorts; from ancient wooden hulls to iron ships of recent times, including Dutch, Portuguese and British in the period in between, among others, around the island.
Many belive that HMAS Vampire which survived two near - missed attackers and said to have survived the plunder is lying near Batticaloa 132km south of Trincomalee and is yet be discovered.
Galle, the famous Trading Port from the ancient times and the port that was held by the Dutch, Portuguese and the British for a considerable period, probably has the most numbers of wrecks in the sea close to its coast. Due to the same reasons and due to the fact the international sea lane that circumvents Sri Lanka goes close along its southern coast, the area close to the Southern Coast has many more wrecks that are already found and probably more to be found. Colombo and Trincomalee and their environs are two other areas where many shipwrecks are lying. The Admiralty Floating Deck 23 or AFD23 supposed to the largest ever built, is one important wreck that is lying in Trincomalee.