Shipwreck Glossary

This glossary defines the terms used on every Wreck Intelligence wreck record — how a wreck's condition and position are described, how its depth was established, and the legal designations that govern what may be done at a site.

Wreck condition

Intact
Hull substantially whole and recognisable as a ship.
Broken
Hull failed into sections, often still with identifiable structures such as boilers, guns or machinery.
Scattered
A debris field rather than a recognisable hull. Frequently the outcome for wrecks on exposed, shallow coastline.
Inverted
Lying upside down, keel uppermost. Common for warships, whose heavy upperworks turned them over as they sank.
Orientation
How the wreck sits on the seabed — upright, listing, on her side, or inverted — and, where recorded, the direction her bow points.
Seabed
What the wreck lies on: sand, shingle, mud, rock or reef. It affects how much of a wreck is buried and how quickly it breaks up.
Intactness
A description, from the sources, of what remains of the wreck today and how it has changed since it was lost.

Position and depth

Approximate position
A position shown to 2 decimal places (about 1 km) and drawn on the map as a hollow marker. Every designated protected wreck and war grave is shown this way, as are positions that are only approximately known or whose source does not permit exact redistribution. Other positions are shown to 4 decimal places (about 10 m).
Inferred depth
Where no source states a depth, the deepest surveyed seabed within 250 metres of the recorded position (EMODnet bathymetry), shown as "about" and marked as inferred. It is inferred from the seabed, not measured on the wreck, and a sourced depth always takes precedence.
Recorded depth
The depth the sources give for the wreck, usually the seabed at its deepest point. Where sources give a range, the shallower figure is the highest part of the structure.