Photo essay: Freediver dances with killer whales in Norway's Arctic waters

Arthur Guerin-Boeri travelled to the snowy island of Spildra to see the majestic creatures

Frenchman Arthur Guerin-Boeri before his dive to spot orcas. All photos: AFP

Guerin-Boeri's dives were off Spildra island, Norway, in the northern Arctic Circle

A killer whale in Kvaenangen Fjord, near Spildra

The area is where whales come to hunt herring

Guerin-Boeri is a five-time world champion in the dynamic apnea category of competitive freediving

He can swim more than 100 metres under water and hold his breath for several minutes

The ocean temperature is about 3°C while the air temperature is -4°C at this time of year

Guerin-Boeri spent a week diving from snowy Spildra, a tiny island in the Arctic Circle

The freediver plans to return next winter

His aim was simply to watch the majestic creatures

He said the experience was an 'unforgettable memory'

'I'm in the water next to two super-predators that accept me. It's majestic,' Guerin-Boeri said after his first dive with the mammals

Guerin-Boeri before his adventure

The diver warms up in a traditional Arctic hut by the fjord

Guerin-Boeri surfaces after a dive

He shelters from the unforgiving weather in a traditional Norwegian hut made from wood and covered with earth and grass

Guerin-Boeri approaches a killer whale

Diving in such inhospitable conditions is a tough challenge

Birds during a snowstorm off Spildra

World champion freediver Arthur Guerin-Boeri glides through Norway's Arctic waters to rub shoulders with killer whales.

The Frenchman is in the icy waters of Kvaenangen Fjord, off the island of Spildra in the Scandinavian country's far north, plunging to depths beyond 15 metres. This is where whales come to hunt herring.

"I'm in the water next to two super-predators that accept me. It's majestic," the 38-year-old told AFP after his first such dive with the mammals.

"They move in a synchronised way, in a kind of ballet. I'd like to follow them but it's impossible, they move too fast and rapidly leave me behind."

Guerin-Boeri is a five-time world champion in the dynamic apnea category of competitive freediving. He can swim more than 100m underwater and hold his breath for several minutes, but he's hoping to push the perception of freediving beyond sport and performance.

He spent a week diving off snowy Spildra, a tiny island in the Arctic Circle, aiming simply to watch the creatures and pursue "the excitement of making a discovery". His dives, he said, lasted no more than "about 30 seconds".

He said it was an "unforgettable memory" and plans to return next winter.

"In this environment, you forget the fatigue, the cold, the apprehension. And when I reach the surface to breathe again, there are ice-covered cliffs around me ... you're surrounded by beauty," he said.

"I want to return to the essence of freediving: the exploration of the undersea world, making discoveries, and I have been given a treat."