Fortescue Bay

Fortescue Bay & the SS Nord, Tasman Peninsula

By ScubaDownUnder Team · 2026-09-20

Beneath the highest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere, the Tasman Peninsula keeps some of Tasmania's finest cold-water diving. Fortescue Bay is the gentle heart of it, a sheltered cove where towering forests of giant kelp sway in clear water and draughtboard sharks doze on the bottom. A few miles offshore, in the deep water off Tasman Island, lies its dramatic counterpoint: the [SS Nord](https://www.scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/ss-nord-wreck), a cargo steamer that struck a pinnacle in 1915 and now rests upright at forty-two metres, one of Tasmania's great wreck dives. Together they make the Tasman Peninsula a destination that spans the easy and the extreme.

Fortescue Bay sits within Tasman National Park, on a coast of dolerite cliffs and sea caves that ranks among the most dramatic in Australia. The cold, clean water of the Tasman Sea feeds dense kelp forests and sponge gardens, and the bay's sheltered position makes it one of the more accessible cold-water dives in the state, with a boat ramp and a campground at the water's edge. Out past the heads, the same coast that draws divers has wrecked ships, and the SS Nord is the most storied of them, a case-oil steamer that sank in 1915 after striking a sunken pinnacle near Hippolyte Rock.

Fortescue Bay itself is a kelp-forest dive, shallow and sheltered, reaching a maximum of about twenty-two metres with most diving around twelve. Swimming through the giant kelp, with light filtering down through the canopy, is the signature experience, and the bay's accessible shore and boat dives suit a wide range of divers. The SS Nord is a different proposition entirely. The wreck lies at forty-two metres off Tasman Island, still recognisably a ship despite a collapsed superstructure, with a rudder that reportedly still swings, and it is firmly a deep dive for experienced and technically trained divers. The wider Tasman Peninsula adds dolerite walls, the sea caves of [Waterfall Bay](https://www.scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/waterfall-bay) and the fur seal colony at [Hippolyte Rocks](https://www.scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/hippolyte-rocks), so a trip here can range from a relaxed kelp potter to a serious deep wreck.

The cold water makes for rich temperate life. Fortescue Bay's kelp forests shelter draughtboard sharks resting on the bottom, weedy seadragons drifting through the fronds, and the boarfish, bastard trumpeter and butterfly perch typical of Tasmanian reefs. Southern rock lobster and octopus tuck into the rock, and jewel anemones and sponges colour the walls. Australian fur seals from the nearby Hippolyte Rocks colony range through the area and sometimes join divers. The SS Nord, deep and dark, has become an artificial reef of its own, its steel draped in invertebrate growth and patrolled by deep-water fish. It is a marine community that rewards the wide-angle photographer and the patient observer alike.

This is cold-water diving on an exposed coast. Water temperature ranges from around 12°C in winter to 17°C in summer, drysuit or heavy semi-dry territory year-round, and the giant kelp is at its best in the cooler months. Visibility is often very good, ten to twenty-five metres, helped by the clean Tasman Sea water, though the coast is exposed to southerly swell and the outer sites and the SS Nord depend on calm conditions. Fortescue Bay is sheltered enough to dive in a range of weather, while the wreck and the outer walls need settled seas and are dived by boat. Current can run on the exposed sites and at depth on the Nord, so the deeper diving is for the experienced and well-prepared.

The Tasman Peninsula is really a cold-water destination rather than a single site, and Fortescue Bay is the base for exploring it. The dolerite architecture of the coast, with its caves, walls and the towering cliffs above, gives the diving a grandeur few places match, and the kelp forests are increasingly precious as giant kelp declines elsewhere in Tasmania. For technically minded divers the SS Nord is the prize, a deep, intact and atmospheric wreck with real history. Local operators run the wreck and the outer sites when conditions allow, and pair them with the bay's gentler dives.

Fortescue Bay and the SS Nord capture the range of Tasman Peninsula diving in two dives. One is a sunlit drift through a giant kelp forest; the other is a sombre descent to a steamer lost over a century ago, deep beneath the cliffs. Both are cold, clear and unmistakably Tasmanian, and together they make the Tasman Peninsula one of the most rewarding cold-water destinations in the country.

## Site Access and Logistics

Fortescue Bay lies within Tasman National Park, on Tasmania's south-east coast, about an hour and a half from Hobart and reached by a gravel road into the bay, where there is a boat ramp and a campground. The bay's kelp dives can be done from the shore or by boat, while the SS Nord and the outer Tasman Peninsula sites are boat dives run by local operators when the weather allows. A national park pass is required for entry to the bay.

Fortescue Bay's sheltered kelp forests, to around twenty-two metres, suit divers from a competent Open Water level upward, ideally with cold-water experience and the right exposure protection. The SS Nord is a deep wreck at forty-two metres, strictly for experienced, deep or technically trained divers with appropriate gas and planning. A drysuit or heavy semi-dry suits the cold water year-round, and a surface marker buoy is standard on the boat dives. Conditions on this exposed coast change quickly, so the outer sites depend on settled weather.

Charters, gear and guiding on the Tasman Peninsula are run by operators including [Eaglehawk Dive Centre](https://www.myguidetasmania.com/things-to-do/eaglehawk-dive-centre) at nearby Eaglehawk Neck.

## Sources

- Abyss Scuba Diving, the ultimate guide to diving in Tasmania: [https://www.abyss.com.au/blog/diving/-the-ultimate-guide-to-diving-in-tasmania-explore-the-depths](https://www.abyss.com.au/blog/diving/-the-ultimate-guide-to-diving-in-tasmania-explore-the-depths) - DeeperBlue, top 5 dive sites in Tasmania: [https://www.deeperblue.com/top-5-dive-sites-in-tasmania/](https://www.deeperblue.com/top-5-dive-sites-in-tasmania/) - Scuba Diving magazine, divers guide to Tasmania: [https://www.scubadiving.com/divers-guide-tasmania](https://www.scubadiving.com/divers-guide-tasmania) - Tasmania.com, scuba diving: [https://tasmania.com/adventure-sports-activities/scuba-diving/](https://tasmania.com/adventure-sports-activities/scuba-diving/) - Eaglehawk Dive Centre: [https://www.myguidetasmania.com/things-to-do/eaglehawk-dive-centre](https://www.myguidetasmania.com/things-to-do/eaglehawk-dive-centre)