Prins Willem & Norlond (individual sign-ups)

Prins Willem

The Prins Willem “Willie” is an iconic shipwreck lying gracefully on its starboard side, nestled at depths ranging from 55 to 80 feet beneath the surface. As one of Milwaukee’s most celebrated dive sites, this sunken freighter draws divers from all levels, eager to explore its storied remains.

Originally constructed as a St. Lawrence canal-sized packet freighter, the Prins Willem V was designed with a steel hull and powered by a five-cylinder diesel engine, intended to shuttle goods between Northern European ports and the Great Lakes. The Oranje Lines of Holland commissioned the ship in 1939, alongside its sister ships, the Prins Willem IV and the Prins Alexander. However, the vessel’s fate took a dramatic turn during World War II.

Built by the Van Vlier Company in Norway, the construction of the Prins Willem V was abruptly halted in May 1940, when German forces invaded and occupied the region. By then, the ship was about two-thirds complete. In a bold act of defiance and desperation, the Nazis sank the unfinished freighter with explosives in October 1944, aiming to block a crucial waterway near Rotterdam and slow the advance of Allied forces.

It wasn’t until after the war, on December 11, 1947, that the Van Vlier Company was able to raise the wreck, clean and recondition the ship, and finally complete its construction. The rebirth of the Prins Willem V, including the painstaking restoration of its diesel engines, marked a triumphant return from the depths of wartime destruction.

Today, the “Willie” serves as a hauntingly beautiful underwater relic, a testament to resilience, history, and the enduring allure of the deep. Read more…

Norlond
Today, the Norlond sets upright in 60 feet of water on a sand and mud bottom, broken up and scattered about. The upper portion of the hull has fallen apart with the boiler, shaft and propeller, keel exposed. The cargo of general merchandise had been strewn across the bottom.  Read more…

Certifications: OW or above