10 award-winning photos capture eerie underwater scenes of shipwrecks, rusted tanks, and a sunken passenger plane

Mia JankowiczFeb 20, 2024, 21:22 IST

A Bell AH-1F Cobra helicopter sitting on the Red Sea floor off the coast of Jordan.Alvaro Herrero (Mekan)/UPY 2024

The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has announced its winners for 2024.
One eerie category, "wrecks," showcases sunken ships, tanks, a plane, and a helicopter.

The 2024 winners of the Underwater Photographer of the Year competition have been announced, showcasing submerged scenes as diverse as a diver among a graveyard of whale skeletons, a sunken helicopter, and kissing carp.

One category, "wrecks," speaks to our special fascination with submerged ships, tanks, and other military hardware that have come to rest on the ocean floor over hundreds of years.

In the photographs, military cargo, ship's wheels, and even passenger airline seats all remain eerily intact in their watery resting places.

While several of the photos come from Jordan's Underwater Military Museum, where hardware is sunk on purpose as a diving attraction, others have more chilling stories stemming from wars and tragic accidents.

Here are 10 of the best "wrecks" shots, according to the judges.

Two sunken Chieftain tanks at the underwater military museum in Aqaba, Jordan.

Two Chieftain tanks on the sea floor at the Aqaba underwater military museum.Martin Broen/UPY 2024

The wheel of this 19th-century wooden schooner is still intact at the bottom of Lake Huron.

"Illuminating the Past": Two divers explore the wreck of the schooner Kyle Spangler in Lake Huron.Becky Kagan Schott /UPY 2024

A split-second shot catches a shoal of fish resembling a boat's sail in Brazil.

"Set sail": A school of fish momentarily resembles a boat sail over the wreck of the Virgo, near Recife, Brazil.Fabi Fregonesi/UPY 2024

Rows of silt-covered motorbikes, never to be ridden, are seen inside a WW2 cargo steamship.

Two divers explore the interior of the wreck of the SS Thistlegorm in the Red Sea off Egypt.Alex Dawson/UPY 2024

This photographer used a lamp to simulate an active engine in this plane under the sea.

"Takeoff": A lone diver floats near a sunken Lockheed L-1011 TriStar aircraft in Aqaba, Jordan.Christian Horras/UPY 2024

Another eerie view inside a sunken Lockheed passenger plane shows row upon row of unoccupied seats.

A lone diver floats in a submerged Lockheed TriStar L-1011 passenger plane in the Red Sea off Jordan's coast.Alvaro Herrero (Mekan)/UPY 2024

This freight ship crashed so hard, it broke in half.

"Breaking Point": A diver floats past a massive break in the S.S. Norman in the Great Lakes.Becky Kagan Schott /UPY 2024

Almost 200ft underwater, this WW1 battleship's gun barrels still seem ready for action.

"Simply Audacious!": A diver faces the camera with two gun barrels of the HMS Audacious, sunk off the coast of Ireland.Kieran Hatton/UPY 2024

The photographer said he had just 20 minutes to get this stunning shot of a sunken helicopter.