Castlereagh Sub Aqua Club organises D-Day 80th Anniversary scuba dive

The SS Empire Tana was a World War Two Liberty ship and was a part of the Mulberry harbours at the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy and has a real connection to the anniversary.

Captured by the Allies during the war and renamed the Empire Tana in 1943, she was towed to the D-Day beachhead at Normandy and used as a block ship, ‘Gooseberry No. 5’ at Ouistreham.

She was floated and towed to Lee’s Yard in Strangford Lough to be scrapped when she ran aground and could not be refloated. She remained there from 1947 to 1996 when during a salvage operation a depth-charge exploded.

The wreck is split into two sections and lie around 100m apart. This would be one of the most dived sites in Northern Ireland with depths of around 10m -14m

Members of the club, joined by other divers, attached a wreath to the wreck to mark the 80th anniversary of the D Day landings on the 6th June 1944, in memory of those, of all faiths, skin colours and Nationalities, who came together and pushed back against the darkness that was spreading across Europe at that time. Freedom always comes at a terrible cost.

There was a great turnout at the event with the idea put to the club from training officer Craig Cameron who quite rightly pointed out the important history of the Empire Tana.