Sailor’s shoe on P.L.M. 27 shipwreck

A sailor’s shoe sits on the deck of the shipwreck of P.L.M. 27. (Purple slime worms are now growing on the shoe.)

Small artifacts such as this shoe are sometimes removed by unscrupulous scuba divers as “souvenirs.” Taking any objects off the shipwrecks is illegal.

Diver education efforts by dive operators such as Ocean Quest Adventures and by non-profit organizations like the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland & Labrador raise awareness about the need to protect the Bell Island shipwrecks.