Dutchman Martin Voordouw, then 40, failed to return from a group dive on the German battleship Konig in October 2007.
Having entered the wreck without a line, he and his buddy entered a small compartment and, after silt had been kicked up, only the buddy was able to find his way out.
Voordouw remained missing until October last year, when visiting divers from Chester Sub-Aqua Club stumbled upon his remains after penetrating about 15m into the wreck.
Looking through a hatch into a small room, one diver’s eyes alighted upon a set of twin cylinders. A DSMB line was tied on before the divers exited.
Local divers entered the wreck late last year and, while able to separate items of equipment from the body in order to facilitate removal, failed to remove the remains.
The successful recovery was achieved this month by a team operating from the charter boat Jean Elaine, from which Voordouw had been diving two years ago.
Supported by skipper Andy Cuthbertson and crewman Mark Nicole, divers Barry White, Ian Trumpess and Ben Wade dived into the wreck last week.
“From what I understand, Ben reached up through the compartment hatch and got hold of the fins,” Cuthbertson told
Divernet.
“When he pulled on them, the body started moving, so he kept pulling and it was possible to remove it.”
The divers secured the remains in an accessible main chamber before returning on 8 February with appropriate recovery materials.
“We’re just very pleased to have brought closure to the affair,” said Cuthbertson.
Voordouw’s remains are being held in Inverness for post-mortem and the compilation of a report for the Procurator Fiscal in Kirkwall.
They are expected then to be repatriated to Voordouw’s relatives in the Netherlands.
Archive | 
