Get Involved with The SHIPS Project

The SHIPS Project is a community enterprise that involves lots of enthusiastic volunteers working alongside the Project team, so please find out below how you can get involved. We run maritime history projects and marine environmental cleanup projects so there is always a lot going on.

Getting involved with Objects and Finds

Do you have any objects recovered from the seabed or rivers around Plymouth?
Have you found anything interesting on the foreshore?

We are interested in recording and photographing any finds recovered from the sea to add to our knowledge about the history of Plymouth. The finds can be recorded by our volunteers or alternatively we can send you instructions on how you can record and photograph objects you have discovered. Information about the finds will be included in the project records and may be made available online, however the location and ownership of the finds will not be published.

Each of the objects recovered from the sea that are offered to the Project need to be recorded, photographed, researched and documented, so we always need help with that. Training is provided in recording and photographing, and if you are working with us then the training is free.

Finds recorded for the SHIPS Project can be found on the Objects and Finds page and advice on what to do with finds can be found here.

Getting involved with Photos and Video

Do you have any photos or video of shipwrecks or hulks on the foreshore around Plymouth?

The shipwrecks around Plymouth have been visited by divers since the early days of sports diving so there should be thousands of photographs along with miles of film and video of these ships. We would like to obtain copies of photographs, film or video you have. Many people also have photos of the abandoned ships on the foreshore so we would love to see those too.

Getting involved with Stories

Was the James Eagan Layne your first wreck dive?
Did you have a particularly great dive on one of the Plymouth wreck sites?

We would like to hear about your memorable or funny stories of visits to these wrecks, or tales of diving them in the early days.

Stories about Plymouth can be seen on the Stories and Notes page.

Getting involved with Research

Can you help with researching the history of the ships on the seabed and on the foreshore around Plymouth?

Diving and fieldwork are only a very small part of this project as a large part is concerned with researching the history of these ships and the maritime history of Plymouth. Research work is being undertaken online, in archives and in libraries by our volunteers with the assistance of the Project team.

Getting involved with Fieldwork

Can you help with recording wrecks in the area?
Would you like to help us explore Plymouth Sound?

One objective of this project is to create detailed maps of the shipwrecks around Plymouth. This work will be done using a combination of high-tech geophysical surveys backed up with identification and detailed recording by divers. The minimum dive qualification to be involved is BSAC Sports Diver, PADI Advanced Open Water or the equivalent from another organisation.

Getting involved with Fundraising

Can you help with fundraising?
Could you please contribute to The SHIPS Project?

The SHIPS Project is a Community Interest Company that relies on donations and in-kind support to carry on the work we do promoting, researching and discovering the maritime history of Plymouth. Our 1000 Tyres Project is also funded by donations so we need your support to help clean up Plymouth Sound.