SUNDERLAND WRECK PROTECTED BY EXCLUSION ZONE

The wreck of a Sunderland flying-boat lost in the Milford Haven waterway over 50 years ago has been protected by an exclusion zone.

Milford Haven Port Authority has placed the 100 metre exclusion zone around the wreck site, between the Pembroke Dock waterfront and Llanstadwell and Hazelbeach. No-one will be allowed to dive on the wreck without permission and fishermen will also have to give the site a wide berth.

The request for the exclusion zone has been made by the Pembroke Dock Museum Trust, which later this year plans to carry out a maritime archaeological survey of the wreck to confirm the identity of the wreck.

The Trust, which already owns an engine recovered from the site last year, believes it to be a type from the early part of the Second World War, one of several Sunderlands lost in the Haven during the time the aircraft operated from Pembroke Dock over nearly 20 years up to 1957.

When they entered service at Pembroke Dock in 1938 they were the largest aircraft in the RAF, and at one time during World War II, RAF Pembroke Dock was the largest operational flying-boat station in the world. Just three of the aircraft remain operational in the world, two in the UK and one in New Zealand.

Port Authority chief executive Ted Sangster said: "We have powers under existing by-laws to protect historic wreck sites, and have placed a zone around this one to ensure it remains in tact. It means divers are not allowed to dive on it without our express permission."

John Evans, of the Museum Trust, said: "More and more people are now aware of the Sunderland and we are anxious to prevent items from being taken from the site.

"The wreck is already protected under the 1986 Human Remains Act and the exclusion zone is extra protection."

The exclusion zone will not be marked by buoys in order not to interfere with shipping traffic, but users of the waterway will all be officially informed of its location. Local police, the Haven’s Police Marine Unit and the Port Authority’s own patrols are aware of the exclusion zone and will be keeping a very close watch on the site.

The Museum Trust has appealed to local residents and boat users on the Haven to report any unusual activity or boat operations near to the actual site.