More than just finding wrecks
For Nordic Wreck Alliance, wreck diving has never been just about finding something at the bottom of the sea. The wreck itself is only the starting point. What really drives the team is everything that surrounds it: the history, the people, and the stories that are often long forgotten.
For Morten Dyrstad, the motivation has always been rooted in diving itself. He started diving as soon as he was old enough and since then, diving has been a constant part of his life. For Atle Høidalen, it started somewhere else entirely. His background is in fishing and marine electronics. Wrecks first entered the picture simply because fish tend to gather around structures on the seabed. That practical interest gradually grew into something deeper: a fascination with shipwrecks not just as structures, but as historical artefacts with a story to tell.
The pair met two years ago, when Morten came across Atle’s blog while researching different diving equipment. They quickly realised their skills were complementary, formalised the partnership, and Nordic Wreck Alliance was born.
Today, that combination of perspectives is what defines Nordic Wreck Alliance. One brings decades of diving experience and field knowledge. The other brings technical understanding, data, and a way of approaching the underwater environment through sensors, mapping, and marine electronics.
The ferry Nøkken, which once operated in Svelviksundet, shows just how much history can surface from a single find. What initially appeared to be another wreck on the seabed quickly became something much more meaningful once the research began. Identifying the vessel required more than a dive. It involved cross-referencing historical records, searching through maritime archives, and speaking with people who still remembered the ferry in operation.
As more details came together, the wreck stopped being just an object on the seabed and instead became a piece of living history. People who had travelled on board, or had seen it operating in local waters, started to recognise it.
Technology changes everything
For Nordic Wreck Alliance, technology has fundamentally changed the way they work underwater.
In the past, the team would typically be able to dive down to two or three wrecks per year. Every deep dive required extensive planning, logistics, and coordination. A 100-metre dive is not just a dive. It is a major operation involving multiple people and a significant amount of preparation. And even then, the actual time spent on the wreck was limited.
Today, the workflow is far more systematic. Potential targets are first identified on the echo sounder, before the Blueye ROV is deployed to investigate further. From there, Atle’s experience with echo sounder data and precise vessel positioning plays a key role in keeping the operation stable and accurately aligned with the target, often using a GPS-controlled bow motor to hold position over the site.
"We have examples where the ROV goes straight into the cargo hold. We hit dead centre, even at 100 metres depth with strong currents" - Morten Dyrstad, Nordic Wreck Alliance
With a Blueye ROV, the team can confirm targets and gain an overview of the site before anyone enters the water. It provides video, positioning, and situational awareness, allowing them to decide whether a dive is necessary or if the ROV alone is sufficient to document the wreck. The choice often comes down to risk and efficiency.
“Spending two days organising a 150-metre dive with twenty people for five minutes on the wreck, versus sending the ROV down on a calm afternoon and getting two hours of footage for roughly the same result” - Morten Dyrstad, Nordic Wreck Alliance
In many cases, this means fewer but far more effective dives. What used to require several days of planning and coordination can now be verified with the ROV in around five minutes.
Plugging into the equipment they already have
One of the things that makes the Blueye ROV a good match for Nordic Wreck Alliance is how well it works alongside the gear they already rely on. The live video feed is routed to the Garmin chart plotter on board, which means Morten can watch the dive from a tablet in the cabin while Atle follows the same picture on the larger screen, feeding out or reeling in the tether
“It’s so fast and easy to use. When something shows up on the echo sounder, we can just put the ROV straight in" - Atle Høidalen, Nordic Wreck Alliance
This ease of use has also changed how they document their finds. More and more of their footage is now filmed with the ROV rather than by divers.
Looking ahead
The work is far from finished. In fact, the team has several ambitious plans for the future.
With a 250-metre tether now in use, they are able to reach deeper wrecks than ever before, opening up new areas that have yet to be explored. This includes several wrecks in the Oslofjord lying deeper than 150 metres, well beyond recreational diving limits.
One of their major ongoing projects is a systematic mapping of the entire Drammensfjord. The fjord has unusually slow rates of decay on the seabed, which means wood and other materials from old vessels are preserved far longer than usual. The team has already located a wreck that could potentially date back to the 1600s.
“We don’t think we’ve found the most exciting wreck yet" - Atle Høidalen, Nordic Wreck Alliance
At the same time, they continue to document and share their discoveries with the Blueye ROV through video, adding new stories from the seabed with each expedition.
