A unique boat from 1864 may have inspired Jule Verne to create Captain Nemo`s vessel "Nautilus". British explorer has found an early submarine that he believes was the inspiration for Nautilus, Captain Nemo`s vessel in Jules Verne`s nowel 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea". Colonel John Blashford-Snell discovered half-submerged, cast-iron wreck off the coast of Panama while searching for ancient ruins. It was built in 1864 by a visionary craftsman, Julius Kroehl, for the Union forces during the American Civil War.

Maxim Vasiljev, who has been appointed Regional Manager for the Baltic Region of North Eastern Europe for the world's leading technical diving agency, Technical Diving InternationalTM and its sport diving sister agency, Scuba Diving InternationalTM, has announced that he has collected permit to organize diving expedition to HMHS Bitannic wreck in September 2009. Maxim is native Russian originally from Latvia but currently residing in Aahen, Germany. 

Next week, 19th of february Moscow International Dive Show "Golden Dolphin" will start in marble palace Gostity Dvor in the center of Russian capital just 150 meters from Red Square. "Golden Dolphin" is the specialized trade show-exhibition devoted to scuba diving, spear fishing and water-based recreation, the biggest dive show in Eastern Europe and Video & Photo underwater festival.

Kaliningrad department of Russian Ministry of Extraordinary Tasks (МЧС РФ) has announced that this summer 2009 their Special tasks divers will demine and pull ashore a Second World War German barge full of ammunition shells which at the end of the war had gone down near the Kaliningrad shores. All necessary financial resources for this operation are claimed have been granted.

Protecting the Baltic for future generations is a passion and a challenge for researchers and underwater enthusiasts alike. A world full of the unexpected lies just beneath the surface.

When Jukka Nurminen dives into the depths of the Baltic, all he hears are the bubbles from his breathing apparatus and the sound of sand against the occasional rock. The silence could be deafening for some, but not for Nurminen.

Polina Reznikov  The cold water swooshes past my face and I try to curtail my grimace, which is causing water to enter my mouth. The exhilaration was overwhelming. My body was trembling with both, excitement and trepidation. My heartbeat is thumping in my throat, and I feel as if I'm flying. I bank left, level out, then bank a right. I dive down under the platform where open-water students are completing their check-out dives.