Recreational dive permits must be purchased to dive the Saxon Ranger and must be displayed on the vessel. The permit cost is based on a vessel carrying up to four (4) divers at a time with a two hour time allocation on the moorings.

Saxon Ranger

The 400 tonne former fishing vessel, known as the Saxon Ranger is the first purpose sunk dive wreck in the Perth metropolitan area.

The Saxon Ranger (formerly Atlantic Seal) was built around 1960 in Grimsby, England at a cost of 100,000 pounds to work as a side trawler in the North Atlantic ocean. The vessel is 37metres in length with a beam of 9metres and hosted a crew of 17.

Owned by the British Trawler Company, arrangements were made in 1974 for the vessel to be used to develop a southern fishery off Albany.
It was later sold and arrived in Australian waters working around Tasmania and Albany WA with occasional trips into the Antarctic.
The first catch of 52 tonne of fish was blockaded by unions and had to be hand filleted on board.

Continually plagued with 'bad luck' the vessel suffered numerous breakdowns, broke moorings, ran out of fuel, and was finally salvaged from the shores of Rockingham after a gale in 2003.

Considered a jinx, the Saxon Ranger now lies in 25metres of water amongst other sunken wrecks on the seabed floor of the West Coast Dive Park.

West Coast Dive Park

Text information Courtesy of West Coast Dive Park.

Recreational dive information: Travel Time from, Rockingham 15 mins, Dive Rating Open water, Max Depth 20 meters, Visibility unknown, Dive Type boat,  GPS: S 32°19.605, E 115°42.319 ( WGS 84 )

Divers Flag

Any boat with divers operating from it must always display signals by day or night to inform other boat users. visit iMarine for more information.

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Recreational fishing information: Fishing/Anchoring exclusion zone of 200 meters square, please re frame from dropping your anchor on to the wreck, help preserve the wreck by doing the right thing