techdivethailand

DJL Diving Team Identifies WW2 Japanese Minelayer HIJMS Hatsutaka

Davy Jones Locker [PADI 5* Gold Palm Resort, BSAC Centre of Excellence]

Written by Tim Lawrence, Gary Bain & Darius Moazzami 

Introduction Throughout the Second World War, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysian peninsular was the scene for much naval conflict, with the loss of many military and cargo vessels. The relatively shallow depth throughout this region means through the application of deep technical diving techniques, we can explore the seabed, revisiting these lost ships and investigating history. During March 2008, a team of divers from Davy Jones Locker [Koh Tao, Thailand], organised an expedition to locate and identify a military vessel with a lot of history in this region - the Imperial Japanese Navy Minelayer Hatsutaka. Here are our findings.

Image: Mast on the forward section of the HIJMS Hatsutaka

Historical Perspective

The Japanese Minelayer HIJMS Hatsutaka was completed in October 1939. Built by Harima & Co. Hatsutaka gave it’s name to that class of ship. Measuring 90.9 metres in length with a 11.3 metre beam, the Hatsutaka class had a fast, sleek design displacing 1608 tonnes. Engineered with a dual shaft, three boiler power plant, 6000hp was delivered to the propellers giving the minelayer a maximum speed of 20 knots.

Image: WW2 Minelayer HIJMS Hatsutaka

The Hatsutaka class were dual purpose minelayers and net tenders.

With a capacity 360 mines, at the time of building HIJMS Hatsutaka was armed with four 40 mm guns plus a further four 25mm anti aircraft guns.

As WW2 progressed, American submarines become increasingly effective in disrupting Japanese shipping, reducing the transport of vital raw materials. In response, HIJMS Hatsutaka was modified and assigned the role of convoy escort, in an effort to restore the flow of aggregates for the Japanese war machine. Hatsutaka excelled in this new role. Fiercely defending Japanese marus throughout the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysian peninsular, Hatsutaka rapidly became the scourge of US Submarines in this area.

On May 3rd 1945, Japanese Naval records show that the Hatsutaka attacked a submarine in the southern Gulf of Thailand, dropping depth charges on the submerged vessel at 30 fathoms. It’s believed that this was the Baleo Class submarine USS Lagarto [SS-371]. All 86 men on the USS Largato were lost.

Commanding Officer of USS Lagarto, Commander Latta was a veteran of war, having previously made seven patrols as Commanding Officer of USS Narwhal II (SS-167). Every patrol made by this officer was designated successful for the award of combat insignia, a record surpassed by no commanding officer in the Submarine Force.

USS Hawkbill [SS-366] Commanding Officer, Lt. Comdr. F. W. Scanland, Jr. was a close friend of Commander Latta. Stationed in peninsular Malaysia, when the Lagarto was reported overdue, he swore to avenge the loss of his colleagues.

Image: Baleo class submarine USS Hawkbill, photographed in October 1945 [Courtesy of http://usshawkbill.com/366/]

This excerpt is from the Official History of the USS Hawkbill [http://usshawkbill.com/366/].

“Continued westward and at two o’clock in the morning, 16 May, commenced patrolling in shallow water seven miles off the Malay coast, just north of Pulo Tenggol, Malaya, scene of much of Hawkbill’s later actions.

Within two hours after arrival on station, and 2 hours before dawn, Hawkbill contacted an unidentified target running south along the coast. Within an hour after contact, after closing to get at the target before he could enter a mined area behind Pulo Tenggol, Hawkbill had fired six torpedoes from the forward nest for two hits. Range was 2600 yards. Target stopped and opened up with a barrage of four-inch and automatic weapons fire which lasted off and on until seven o’clock in the morning. The target was obviously hurt, but still afloat, and his gunfire held Hawkbill off during darkness.

Pulling clear until dawn, Hawkbill submerged and started back in, closing sufficiently to identify the target as a sleek, fast mine layer of the Hatsutaka Class. He was being towed slowly toward the beach, stern first., by a small sea truck of about 400 tons. At extreme range of 4650 yards, Hawkbill fired a second salvo of three torpedoes at this target. Sighting the wakes, Hatsutaka opened fire with everything he had in an effort to detonate the torpedoes. To no avail, however, for one broke him in two with a terrific explosion amidships.”

Davy Jones Locker Dive Expedition: March 28th 2008, Eastern Peninsular Malaysia

After researching war reports and cross referencing this data against local knowledge, we determined the likely location of HIJMS Hatsutaka. Malaysian fishermen were aware of a large wreck in their waters, and suggested it was from the correct period, but were unaware of the identity.

We believed the wreck would be situated several kilometers north of Dungun, to the north-west of Pulao Tenngol, approximately one kilometer off shore. This is a popular spot for the fishermen to drop fish traps, and for spear fishing.

With the logistical assistance of local Tenngol Island dive operator Lee Tong Theng ‘Charlie’, we chartered a fishing boat and headed to the wreck site, with the objective of locating and identifying the Hatsutaka. Scheduled during one of South East Asia’s inter-monsoon periods, the expedition was coordinated to coincide with the best possible diving conditions. A large river estuary flows into the sea at Dungun, but we would be diving sufficiently far north for visibility to remain unaffected.

Image: DJL Diving PADI Course Director Darius Moazzami prepares to dive

Arriving early morning with near zero wave heights, we ran a brief sonar survey, before deploying the shot line. Maximum depth in this area is relatively shallow at 35m, but the region does suffer strong north-south currents.

Image: Manolo tends to the depth sonar

We planned five waves of wreck dives throughout the day, breaking into teams of two divers so we could discuss the observations from each dive and maximize the effectiveness of our survey. Visibility was in the 10-15m range, with the current running strong in the morning then easing off later in the day.

On the first dive our shot line was secured to what we believe to be the forward section of the wreck. The ship is broken in two main portions, with the break situated amidships rear of the bridge.

The bow section is lying on it’s port side, measuring approximately 45m in length. This forward section lies on a roughly north-south orientation.

Image: Forward section of the WW2 Minelayer HIJMS Hatsutaka

The stern section of the wreck is sitting upright on the seabed, approximately 25m off the bow section, extending west, towards the mainland. The structure is still mostly solid, with portholes lining the hull. This is all consistent with the information given in the original war report, with Hatsutaka being towed stern first towards the mainland, and breaking in two.

In addition to the two main sections, there are other scattered areas of wreckage. Primarily attributable to the original torpedo attack, this is has also been contributed to by ‘dynamite fishing’ which was only made illegal and enforced by the marine police as recently as ten years ago.

The wreck is rich with WW2 artifacts. In the debris field beneath the bridge, we observed typical WW2 Japanese naval items.

Of particular interest was part of a pair of binoculars, which are characteristic of the superior optics used by the Japanese at this time.

Left image: Part of a set of binoculars, typical of Japanese optics used in WW2

Right Image: Gyroscopic compass and range finding device

This artifact is very similar to a set recovered from the Japanese Heavy Cruiser Haguro [sunk 55 miles south west of Penang, Malaysia]. 

Also fascinating, was a large gyroscopic ship’s compass and range finding instrument, fitted with intricate glass prisms and scales.

After cleaning the coral of the top piece of the range-finder, we found the following manufacturers plate:

Image: Makers plate on top of range-finding device

The translation of the Japanese script, comes out as follows:

 90 Compass Type 1
[Kou-Dai-Kyo] Big Mirror

Type KA5 No. 19973
Company Name
Tokyo Keiki Sei Sakujo [Tokyo measurement company]
Made December 1938

Given that the HIJMS Hatsutaka was completed in 1939, the date of the makers stamp on the compass fits well. 

Scattered across the wreck we saw several pressure sensitive mechanisms which we assume to be part of a depth charge triggering mechanism. These are stamped with Japanese script.

Image: Depth charge detonator device

On the stern section there are many unexploded shells.

We recovered an empty casing, which measured 25mm, again consistent with the technical details for HIJMS Hatsutaka.

Image: 25 mm casing, consitent with HIJMS Hatsutaka’s armament

We also observed what we assume to be an anti aircraft turret mounting, and believe the gun to has fallen off the mounting, into the wreckage.

After 63 years on the seabed, the wreck of HIJMS Hatsutaka is now rich with marine life. The ship is encrusted with colorful corals, with an enormous population of fusiliers and trevelly surrounding the wreck, a testament to nature’s ability to overcome adversity.

Diving the Hatsutaka was a fascinating experience, and we’ll soon return with another team of divers from Davy Jones Locker to further explore and map the wreck.

Image: The dive team from Davy Jones’ Locker: From left Gary Bain, Tim Lawrence, Tristan Termat, Bruno Silveira, Darius Moazzami & Manuel Santana Lopez.

We’d like to thank Lee Tong Theng ‘Charlie’ and Dick Clark [from the Official USS Hawkbill website] for their contributions in making this expedition a success.

Wreck Dive Expedition Opportunities with Davy Jones Locker

At Davy Jones’ Locker, Koh Tao Thailand, we’re committed to dive exploration, and will continue to seek out lost ship wrecks throughout South East Asia.

You too can get involved.

To encourage dive exploration, we’re offering an exciting new option for all our technical diver training with Davy Jones’ Locker.

If you enroll on either a DSAT Tec Deep or BSAC technical diving course with DJL, all the profit from your tech course will be put towards funding dive expeditions such as this. So as part of your tech diving course, you’ll get to take part in an exciting dive expedition.

For example, on this dive expedition Tristan Termat was completing his tech diving course - for his last two dives he joined our expedition team, re-locating and identifying the HIJMS Hatsutaka.  If you’re interested taking up the challenge, contact DJL Diving.

Image: Tech student Tristan and Tim prepare to enter the water

You can read full details of our technical diving courses on our website.

If you’re already certified as a technical diver [or are a group of technical divers], and want to get involved, again contact Davy Jones’ Locker, and we can discuss what’s possible.

There are many targets still waiting to be explored - we just need to commit the time and resources.

Workup dives survey small wreck South East of Koh Tao

After discovering a small wreck south east of Koh Tao Thailand a couple of months ago, this morning, a team of divers from DJL returned to the wreck to make a survey and get a better idea of the wreck.

Image 1: Calm sea looking out from Sairee Beach, Koh Tao

Image 2: Tim briefs Manolo, Arne & James on exactly how the diving and survey is to be conducted

She sits at 40 metres, so this provided perfect work-up dives for a bigger wreck diving expedition later this month….

The Gulf of Thailand is completely flat at the moment - prime time for taking the RIB out, so we were able to reach the wreck dive site in less than 30 minutes. During our discovery dives on the wreck at the start of the year, visibility was less than one meter, in the ‘muddy’ channel between Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. We hoped for better today!

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case! Again we were treated to about 2-3 metres vis at depth, but were still able to build up a better image of the dive site.

This isn’t a ’serious wreck dive‘ - it’s a steel barge around 25 metres in length with a beam of about 3.5 metres. The top is at about 39 metres, and it looks to have been down for some time as there are lots of nets and corals covering the wreck.

Images; Underwater photos of the wreck [in poor visibility]

Probably the most eventful moment was a jenkins ray coming out of the murk to scare Tim!

Image: Tim & Manolo on the DJL RIB

Anyway, all good practice! More to follow later this month . . . . . Thanks to Manny for the images

[Dive Expedition Report] Divemaster Internship Trainees head out ‘wreck hunting’

This morning, we took advantage of the stunning diving conditions and headed out for a spot of wreck hunting. Divemaster internship trainees James [UK], Christian [AUS], Keanoush [IRAN] & Luke [UK] joined instructors Tim, Alex & Gary searching for a new wreck approximately 30 miles west of Koh Tao.

Image: Perfect scuba diving conditions off Koh Tao, Thailand

Image: From left to right, PADI Divemaster Internship students Keanoush, James, Christian & Luke pose in front of the DJL Diving RIB, ready for a day of wreck hunting!

The sea state couldn’t have been better - zero wind so no waves. Even with the rib fully loaded we were hitting over 30 knots without pushing the revs beyond 5000 rpm.

We departed very early to reach the target during slack current. With no cloud cover we were obviously going to catch a lot of sun throughout the day, so the SPF 50 was slapped on [as you’ll see from Keanoush in the photo above].

The area we were looking at has war reports for 4 WW2 Japanese wrecks, sunk in a very small area. Our marks from local fisherman were very scattered - the best was two independant marks lining up very closely so that constituted our primary target for this trip.

Image:  The gas platform makes a spectacular backdrop for our sonar searches of the seabed

More than 30 nautical miles west of Koh Tao we reached the target, running a sonar search on the gps mark. On the horizon there was an oil platform making an interesting back-drop.

Image: The guys watch the sonar as Tim manouvers the dive boat around the mark.

Since we had headed towards the Thai mainland, the depth was relatively shallow - just 35 metres on the bottom so within recreational diving depth range. After a period of searching, the sonar showed lots of fish life and eventually a mound on the bottom indicating that there is something down there…  

Image: The sonar showing a strong return from something rising up from the seabed at 35 metres.

We dropped the shot and sent in the first wave of divers. Below 20 metres depth, visibility was apauling - approx 0.5 metres at best. We secured a reel to the shot line and ran a circular search in the low vis environment. The shot wasn’t great - we saw some scattered debris but didn’t hit a wreck or pinnacle, and saw very few fish.

Probably the biggest event of the dive was a venomous puncture wound in the finger, likely the result of a scorpion fish which quickly induced ’sausage finger’ swelling [which quickly subsided].

Image: Ouch! A swollen finger resulting from a punture wound from a scorpion fish!

Using the first shot as a reference, we ran further sonar searches from the RIB and dropped a second shot line. In the low vis the weighted shot would have to be very accurate to locate the anomaly.

Our second and third waves of divers saw large schools of barracudas and more scattered debris on the bottom. The return we saw on the sonar screen indicated that there should be a structure standing 4 - 5 metres proud of the seabed, but in such poor visibility our dives failed to locate it.

 Image: Christian helps Alex & James back onto the dive boat

We’ll try again next week - hopefully more luck then! 

50 metre wreck dives collect further evidence of Japanese origin + 2 new BSAC Extended Range Divers

Yesterday we sent our big dive boat across to Chumphon on the Thai mainland for it’s annual maintenance. We took advantage of the journey by doing a bit of wreck diving exploration on the way over.

We split into two dive teams. Gerry & Alex undertook the final dives of their BSAC Extended Range Diver course under the instruction of Tim. After recovering from his sunburn, Leon dived on his Buddy Exolution closed circuit rebreather pairing up with Gary.

Again, we had fantastic sea conditions as we left early from Sairee Beach, Koh Tao.

First, we headed out the the wreck dive site which we located in August [suspected WW2 schooner wreck]. Since the wooden wreck has been down for some time, it has collapsed making it very difficult to detect at 50 metres. After a period of searching we got the sonar return we wanted.

Tim’s team descended first, securing the shot line to one of the large ballast stones. Leon & Gary followed, running a longer bottom time to allow further investigation of the wreck diving site.

Visibility was low [about 1-2 metres at depth] making it difficult to get a proper impression of the wreck. Here are our key observations from our wreck dives:

Due to it’s age and wooden structure, the wreck is now very scattered and disordered.

We believe the shot was secured inside the wreck, amidships close to the port-side. On reaching the bottom at 48 metres, Tim’s team turned right, presumably towards the stern. Tim saw a large wheel which he believes to be part of the engine.

There are an enormous number of glass bottles - too many and too concentrated in one area to have been dropped from fishing boats - therefore presumably part of the cargo.

Close to the shot line we saw several large broken toilets and sinks, suggesting that the wreck must have been a decent size and quality.

Leon located a cargo hold of plates - he estimates that there are many hundreds stacked and continuing down below the silt. We recovered two of the more ornate ones to try to get more of a clue to the identity of the wreck.

We’ve now seen three different makers marks all from Japan. They are all printed in English, presumably suggesting that the Japanese cargo was intended for an English speaking market. This seems unusual, given the suspected dating of the wreck.

Leon will take the two plates back to the UK with him and will try to shed light on their origin from one of his contacts. We’ll have to wait and see what turns up.

After leaving the wreck diving site, a storm moved in and wave heights picked up. We got very wet!

During the onward journey towards the mainland we checked out two more fishermans marks hoping to discover another wreck site. Despite extensive sonar surveys at each of the locations, we didn’t get any definitive returns so decided not to dive. At one site there was a palm fisherman’s float and line descending down to the bottom, but this was most likely attached to a fish trap. Hopefully more luck next time - all part of the process of eliminating marks!

The sun set as we headed on towards the mainland, passing lots of small islands as we approached the city of Chumphon.

We drove up the river, passing lots of fishing boats and fish processing plants before finally reaching the Koh Tao night boat just before 21:00. We transferred all our tech diving gear across, then grabbed a quick bite to eat, before getting back onto the night boat and returning to Koh Tao at 5am - quite a long day!

Anyway, congratulations to Gerry & Alex on completing their BSAC Extended Range Diver course - hopefully they’ll continue to be active technical divers in the future.

[Wreck Dive Expedition Report] 2 New ship wrecks located SE of Koh Tao, Thailand

[Dive Expedition Report | Dec 12th] 

Today, scuba diving conditions were fantastic. Bright sunshine & less than half metre wave heights across the Gulf of Thailand gave us the perfect opportunity for a day of wreck hunting.

During yesterday’s Unicorn Wreck dives, we got 6 - 7 metres visibility [at 50 metres depth]- pretty good for monsoon season so close to Koh Tao. So we had high expections for our day of wreck diving!

[Background on Targets] 

With weather like this our RIB becomes very effective at covering large distances quickly [and cost effectively!]. As such we planned to dive two targets - both likely to be wrecks within close range of Koh Tao, Thailand.

The first mark was based on a war report - like our WW2 schooner wreck expedition in August, we referred back to another US subamarine log. The WW2 US sub reported sinking a Japanese auxilliary vessel during 1941. The given position was south-east of Koh Tao [a little over 20 nautical miles off-shore]. Our expected bottom depth in this region is approximately 55 metres [depending on tides].

Very close to the war report position, we had two independent, coinciding marks from Thai fisherman, so felt pretty confident that something was there. Hopefully we’d get to locate & dive the WW2 Japanese Wreck!

Our backup target was a secondary mark closer to Koh Tao [approximately 13 miles off Koh Tao island]. This time we had 3 independent fishermens marks stacking up on the same spot - 2 near identical marks plus a third which was just 100 yards distant. We we’re pretty certain that there was something in the water but had no idea what? [Wreck / Rock?]. Since this mark was a little closer to shore we estimated the max depth to be a little deeper than 40 metres.

The team for this trip was supposed to consist four divers - Tim, Arne & Gary diving open circuit plus Leon using his Evolution CCR [rebreather]. Unfortunatly Leon got very badly suburned two days ago so was unable to make it - he said it tingles!! Dezer joined us a a ‘deckhand’.

[Dec 12th Dive Expedition]

An early start just after sunrise allowed us to reach the first mark on slack tide.

As we approached the dive site, we realised there was a Thai fisherman on the GPS co-ordinate. It turned out to be a fishtrap boat, which is good news - they lay big fishtraps just off pinnacles and wrecks, periodically hauling up thier traps to collect their catch.

As we reached the wreck site, the Thai fishermen were lifting a large fishtrap onto the boat, loaded with fish. They had one diver in the water, ‘hookah diving’.  They had a small air compressor on the boat [probably not strictly sufficient for producing breathing gas], with a line descending down into the water. Their diver inserts the other end of this hose into the top of his 1960s style mask, and breaths slowly through his nose.

The sonar was displaying about 53 metres. In the time it took us to make one dive, their diver had made three descents and ascents [without any deco stops] - they’re certainly brave!!

We got a decent return and dropped the weighted shot. As we descended down visibility wasn’t great - just a couple of metres at the bottom, but the shot was good, landing right next to the wreck.

She was wooden, sitting upright, approximately 5-6 metres high, but completely covered in fishing nets [with lots of fish trapped in it]. As we explored the wreck it became clear that this was a wooden wreck, probably a large Thai fishing boat, especially once we identified the ‘Buddha point’ at the bow [typical of this type of Thai boat].

So no WW2 wreck on this mark, but another set of GPS co-ordinates eliminated!

We then headed back towards Koh Tao to take a look at the second mark [which we had no idea what it was]. It’s strange how things work out!

We got a decent sonar return, rising up from the bottom at about 42 metres. By the time we entered the water for our second dive the current was starting to run and visibility had reduced to near zero.

As we descended down the line we discovered a descent sized steel wreck. It was again upright, the sides of the hull rising up 3- 4 metres above the sand. Lots of coral growth and fish, indicating that it had been down for some time, and a big cargo hold [we descended down inside the hold but vis was so bad you could barley see your hand in front of your face, so was difficult to determine anything conclusive].

In such low vibility it’s hard to build a proper impression of the wreck, but our first opinion is that it’s some kind of industrial Thai vessel, small cargo type.

We’ll return to dive this wreck at a later date, and try to construct a proper map. It’s shallow depth means we may conduct some of our ‘introduction to technical diving’ courses on this wreck.

So no big or historical wrecks today, but two more sets of marks investigated, with two more wrecks dived close to Koh Tao! Not bad for a days diving!

TEC Expedition Report; South China Sea Liveaboard - HMS Repulse & Submarine K17

We’ve just returned to Koh Tao from a spectacular TEC liveaboard, visiting WW2 wrecks in the South China Sea. We laid commemorative wreaths on the HMS Repulse and Dutch Submarine KXVII, plus dived two shallow wrecks off Tioman Island, Malaysia.

Image; YC Lee passes over the HMS Repulse shipwreck, propelled by his DPV

For this dive expedition we joined Dr. Y.C. Lee & Wee Chee aboard the converted tug liveaboard ‘Mata Ikan‘ (Fish -eye). This vessel has been converted for tec diving with 10 twin sets onboard, diver lift (for easy exits), small inflatable chase boat and hydraulic crane plus lots of deck space making for an comfortable tec dive trip.

Image 1; Sunset on the South China Sea, viewed from the Mata Ikan Tec Liveaboard

Image 2; The top deck of the Mata Ikan tec dive liveaboard

Departing from Mersing, Malaysia on 19th Sep we sailed overnight to HMS Repulse, way out into the South China Sea.

Launched on 8th January 1916, HMS Repulse is an enormous 794.2 feet long British Battleship, weighing 38,300 tonnes at full load. Armed with 6 x 15 inch caliber deck guns, plus 9 x 4 inch guns and anti aircraft armament, she was paired together with the HMS Prince of Wales in a resistance effort known as force Z. Sadly both vessels were sunk during 1941 as a result of Japanese aerial attack, suffering great losses.

Image; A diver swims along the enormous HMS Repulse wreck

Our objective for this series of dives was to lay a commemorative wreath on HMS Repulse, in memory of those lost.

Image; The DJL Dive team, about to lay a wreath on the HMS Repulse. From left, William, Leona, Sunniva, Gary, Kieron, Peter & Tim.

We arrived on site early on 20th September. YC Lee filled us in with the details - her final resting place on the seabed is at a depth of around 55 metres. The HMS Repulse lies in an almost inverted position, way over on her port side. The South China Sea can suffer strong oceanic currents, plus the weather had thrown up 1 - 2 metre waves, making for tricky diving.

Image 1; William and Leona prepare for a deep wreck dive

Image 2; Kieron, Tim, Peter & Leona analyze gases, getting ready to dive the HMS Repulse

Our first dive team (Tim & Kieron) dropped down the shot line to secure our anchor line in a bomb crater above the bridge. Visibility was fantastic allowing a stunning view of HMS Repulse during descent. After securing the line, the guys made a quick survey before ascending.

Throughout the rest of the day we made three more dives, photographing the wreck, surveying both the bridge and toward the bow of HMS Repulse. On all these dives we encountered a 6 - 7 metre long whale shark during ascent, circling the wreck and anchor line, Wee Chee capturing some great photos.

Image; YC Lee gets a close encounter diving with a decent sized whale shark

Image; A diver swims along the enormous bow of the magnificent HMS Repulse

On the last dive of the day Tim, William, Leona and Kieron laid the wreath on the bridge of HMS Repulse.

Image; The wreath laid on the bridge of the Repulse by the DJL Diving team

Overnight, wave heights picked up and our anchor line broke, leaving us adrift till morning.

Early on the 20th Gary, Sunniva and Peter dropped down to re-secure our anchor line, this time on the stern of the Repulse, just below the rudder. It’s a bizarre sight seeing the enormous rudder and propeller as you approach the wreck. HMS Repulse is gigantic. The hull of the Repulse is now covered with spectacular soft corals and masses of fish life.

Throughout the 20th, our scuba dive teams stuck to 50 metre dive profiles, exploring the outside of the rear of the wreck, photographing our dives. We encountered another whale shark during our ascents - this time it was an inquisitive juvenile.

Image; Fantastic scuba diving encounter with a whale shark (& cobias) above the HMS Repulse

It came very close to our dive teams, colliding with both the ascent line, and the stern of the Mata Ikan. It seemed to be exploring and investigating it’s surroundings, much like a child. Combined with the scale of HMS Repulse this made a very special dive experience.

Image; The inquisitive juvenile whale shark breaches the surface as it comes close to the Mata Ikan tec dive liveaboard vessel.

Image; From left Kieron, William, Leona & Tim decompressing on the line after a deep wreck dive.

Throughout the night, a spectacular lightning storm blew by, but this time the anchor line remained secure.

Image; Sunset aboard the Mata Ikan scuba diving liveaboard vessel

On the morning of the 22nd Tim, William, Leona & Kieron, plus YC & Wee Chee returned to dive the bridge section, primarily to recover our shot plus photograph the wreath. Once that was done it was left to Gary, Peter & Sunnivar to free up the anchor line to the stern, before we left the HMS Repulse.

Image 1; Peter Nieuwhof poses next to one of the giant propellers on the HMS Repulse

Image 2; Gary frees up the anchor line at the end of a deep wreck dive

With Dutchman Peter Nieuwhof part of the dive team, we decided to make our next dive on the Dutch WW2 Submarine KXVII.

The KXVIII submarine was part of the KXVI Class - 74 metres in length, 1045 tonnes displacement when submerged, she had a maximum diving depth of 80 metres and was capable of 17 knots on the surface. On 21st December 1941, KXVII struck a mine whilst exiting the Gulf of Siam. The submarine and all 36 hands were lost.

Because of the five hour voyage from HMS Repulse, we only had time for one dive on the Dutch submarine. The sea state was calm, but with only two hours of daylight remaining we had to make the dive in a 2.2 knot current.

Our dive team descended down to find the shot line dragging in soft silt - we swam down the trail against the strong current for 18 minutes but the effort was rewarded, locating the KXVII submarine upright at 50 metres. She is now covered in many fishing nets, and low visibility prevented us from taking any good photographs. We laid a second commemorative wreath on the KVII, before swimming round the coning tower and ascending up to deco stop depth.

Image 1; Tim laying a wreath on the wreck of the Dutch Submarine KXVII

Image 2; The diver lift makes life easy getting out of the water in full scuba diving gear!

Overnight we sailed back to the shelter of Tioman island. On the morning of the 23rd, with a view to future dive expeditions we checked out one of YC’s BSAC Extended Range Diver training sites - two trawlers sunk in Temek Bay, Tioman island. These wooden wrecks lie on the seabed at 30 metres, linked by a line to make navigation easy. There’s lots of marine life - lionfish, stonefish, chevron barracuda and many small pufferfish. The wooden hulls are rotting away making it easy to peer inside, and the props are still intact. A perfect shallow technical diver training site.

Image; Peering inside the wooden trawler vessel, scuba diving off Tioman island, Malaysia

In summary, we’ve enjoyed some great diving on truly spectacular wreck dive sites. Diving these WW2 wrecks of the South China Sea was a truly humbling experience.

The Mata Ikan was a comfortable pleasant boat to tec dive off, and we greatly appreciated the briefings, assistance and company of Dr. YC Lee, making our dive expedition memorable.

Image; BSAC South East Asia Coach & Experienced Tec diving instructor Dr. YC Lee

Image; Tec diver Wee Chee takes a self portrait - he captured great photos of our wreck diving expedition

We look forward to returning to the South China Sea for more tec /wreck diving liveaboards aboard the Mata Ikan. The area is rich with wrecks of historical importance - not only the HMS Repulse, Dutch Submarine KXVII and trawlers which we dived on this expedition but also the following wrecks which we hope to explore in the near future;

HMS Prince of Wales; Lying inverted on the seabed at 70 metres.

Seven Skies Supertanker; Swedish supertanker, sunk on it’s maiden voyage as a result of an elecrical fire on 6/10/1969. The top of the funnel is at 22 metres, deck at 45 metres, aft superstructure intact, with a tank section blown out on the port side.

Banka coastal freighter, sunk in the 1960’s lying upright.

Kuatan Wreck - Coastal freighter, lying in just 20 metres of water.

Aur supertanker, enormous wreck sitting upright at 50 metres on the seabed.

In addition there’s another WW2 Dutch submarine (the O-16) plus many new marks to explore throughout the South China Sea.

In terms of capability, the Mata Ikan can accommodate around 10 - 12 technical divers - helium and oxygen are available onboard, so trimix / nitrox / rebreather diving is possible.

The best time to dive off the Mata Ikan is during September through till November and March - May. Sea state is calmest during these periods. Flights are available direct into Singapore where the Mata Ikan is moored.

Contact DJL Diving if you’re interested in joining one of our tec liveaboard dive expeditions. If you have a group of divers we can probably arrange a dive liveaboard schedule to suit you. We are also happy to combine technical diver training with a diving liveaboard trip.

Image; A deco stop above the HMS Repulse - Tim, Kieron, Leona & William with YC Lee above

I’d like to thank Wee Chee for contributing the fantastic photos of our wreck diving. DJL Diving Koh Tao Thailand.

Expedition Report: BSAC Training for Army Squadron

DJL Diving, Koh Tao have been visited by the British Ministry of Defence’s ‘Typhoon Squadron‘.

As part of the Defense Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS), a group travelled to Koh Tao to complete diver training through to BSAC Sports Diver Level.

Organised by Lft Ian Sutcliffe, training was conducted by Sub Aqua Diving Supervisor (SADS) Pete Stone along with DJL Diving’s BSAC National Instructor Les Skelton.

Image: Feeding time aboard the Sampai Jumpa Sailing Liveaboard; Around the table (clockwise) OCDT Liam Wilson, Lft Ian Sutcliffe, Captain Bruce Scott, RAF Air Cadet Emma Dutton, SADS Pete Stone. Seated in the background; DJL instructor Les Skelton & Captain Darren Evans.

Training started off on Koh Tao, with diving theory and shallow water work, run off both our big boat and rib.

The guys then tranferred to the Sailing Liveaboard Sampai Jumpa for a five day - four night dive liveaboard.

Image : Sailing Liveaboard ‘Sampai Jumpa’

The group spent the first two days enjoying the dive sites around Koh Tao - Southwest Pinnacles, Shark Island . . . The liveaboard then sailed to the Chumphon Marine Park, north west of Koh Tao, where dives included building up depth experience and progressing through Sports Diver training. Stunning scenery, remote islands and great marine life.

Images:

1. A small island in the Chumphon Marine reserve

2. Hannah Adams makes a giant stride off the Sampai Jumpa

3. A jellyfish drifts by in the current.

For the final days diving the group sailed back to Koh Tao and made a dawn dive at the spectacular Chumphon Pinnacles. It was barely light as the divers entered the water, but the early start was worth it - lots of big grey reef sharks up around the pinnacle! The guys made a last dive at Mango Bay where they performed rescue skills to conclude their training as BSAC Sports Divers.

Image: From left to right; Officer Liam Wilson, DJL DMT James Crossley, Cadet Hannah Adams, OCDT Mitch Lawson & Officer Cadet Alex Rafferty.

Image at Sunset: From left; Officer Liam Wilson, DJL Diving DMT James Crossley, Officer Cadet Alex Rafferty, OCDT Mitch Lawson and RAF Air Cadet Simon Langley.

The guys have now taken the ferry across to Koh Phangan for a bit of well deserved R&R! We look forward to pairing up with ‘Typhoon Squadron’ again for future diver training expeditions.

DJL Expedition Team Discovers WW2 Schooner close to Koh Tao

Background

Here at DJL Diving Thailand, we’ve just returned from a day of wreck hunting - looking for a deep target north of Koh Tao.

Our objective was to locate a WW2 schooner, sunk during July 1945 by Baleo class submarine USS Bugara. Estimated at 200 tonnes (which would make her around 35 - 45 metres in length) we had converging gps marks from three Thai fishermen, close to the location given in the submarine log. If this information was correct, the wreck would be lying at a depth of 50 metres, around 14 miles north of Koh Tao.

Pictures :1. A Schooner Vessel of similar size to the ship wreck we located.

2. Baleo Class Submarine USS Bugara.

3. Chart of the converging GPS marks used to locate this wreck.

Expedition; 27th August 2007

Today, a team of five technical divers from DJL Diving headed out to investigate the mark using our high speed rib. Getting underway early, we reached the ship wreck site by late-morning, then proceeded to search the area using GPS & sonar.

We quickly got a good return, dropped the shot and jumped in - diving on slack tide, our first wave of divers located the wreck. We secured our shot line to one of the many ballast stones, before exploring the wreck.

The wreck lies upright at 46 - 48 metres. Descending down through the thermocline, visibility was limited to 2 - 4 metres, but we still got a good look around. The vessel is a wooden hulled schooner - it appears she’s suffered heavy damage and has broken into two pieces. During our dives we believe we dived the stern section. This was large, consistent with the size of ship we expected, and covered in artifacts.

Our divers recovered several pieces of china from the wreck (for identification purposes). Most of the china plates were identical (exhibiting a ‘555′ stamp - we’ll attempt to discover their origin over the next few days. One of the more attractive plates was labelled with the manufacturers stamp ‘Yamashu Stone China - Japan‘.

Photos:

1. China plates recovered from the WW2 schooner shipwreck, after 62 years lying on the seabed.

2. Manufacturers mark on the back of one of the finer pieces.

Photo: The dive team, from right to left; Arne, Tim, Kieron, Gary & Pete (joining us at the end of the army diver training expedition with DJL Diving)

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Photo: Tim sporting a nice welt from a jellyfish!!

We’ll return to the dive site soon to further investigate the wreck, and attempt to locate the bow section.

If you’re interested in getting involved, check out the DJL Diving | Koh Tao website - also see our scuba diving internships pages, giving you the opportunity to get invoved in our dive expeditions.

Thanks to Pete (Stone) for the images.

Report from Wreck Diving Liveaboard, Chumphon Province

A group of divers have just returned from our 4.5 day sailing liveaboard trip in Chumphon Province, run as a joint venture between Sampai Jumpa & DJL Diving.

The guys dived the shallow wrecks throughout the area plus enjoyed some great coral dive sites.

Photo: A large cave / swimthrough on one of the small islands.

The trip commenced with dives at a coral site of three small islands called Koh Ngam. Our reading prior the trip rated these sites highly, and the group enjoyed the shallow sloping reefs.

Following this the liveaboard proceeded north. The group got to make three wreck dives -descending onto the ‘Dumb Dumb Maru’, ‘Inverted Wreck’ & recently discovered Japanese Tanker. Visibility wasn’t great on the DDM & Tanker, but the divers managed to map the shallow tanker, giving a better idea of how she lies. The much deeper Inverted Wreck (@ 40 metres) had the best conditions, and the divers enjoyed the coral growth and marine life.

Photos:
1. The Sampai Jumpa sailing liveaboard

2. The Dumb Dumb Maru ship wreck, outside Chumphon.

3. Coral encrusted wreck site

4. The divers exploring spectacular wall

5. Wreck dive specialty graduate Shane, descending down the shot line towards the ‘inverted wreck’

6. A lionfish on one of the coral dive sites

The expedition also explored remote islands and pinnacles, north of Chumphon, witnessing a lot of marine species that we don’t see around Koh Tao. Visibility was in the 10 - 15 metre range and we didn’t see any other divers! Many of the divers were Koh Tao dive pros, and rated the diving as much better than Koh Tao!

1. A small pufferfish

2. White eyed moray under a rocky outcropping

We got to enjoy lots of exciting swimthroughs & small caves, healthy hard coral reefs and beautiful deeper soft corals.

On the return voyage to Koh Tao, we stopped of and did a couple of deep dives on the Unicorn wreck - deep air diving to 46 metres.

We’ll be running a repeat liveaboard throughout Chumphon Province in about two weeks time - there are 11 places available - the cost will be 20,000 baht.

Contact DJL if you are interested in joining.

DJL Diving Expo Locates Another WW2 Wreck - Japanese Tanker in Shallow Water

DJL Expo locates another WW2 Ship Wreck - Japanese Tanker Sunk in Shallow Water.

Our original plan for this mission (Monday 11th June) was to investigate the WW2 Tugs/barges mark, sunk by USS Bergal. However, conditions were great so we decided to push for a slightly more distant mark, further north up the mainland coast. Running the RIB from Koh Tao, this turns out to be a near 200 nautical mile round trip, so is only possible with excellent conditions - we decided to go for it.

The History

US Subs were prolific throughout the Gulf of Thailand, disrupting the enemies supply infrastructure by sinking many large marus and smaller coastal cargo vessels. The target for this mission was a Japanese Oil Tanker, around 800 tonnes.

Baleo Class sub USS Bumper, responsible for the sinking of this tanker.

On 17th July 1945, the tanker was moored way north of Chumphon, sheltered in a shallow bay. The best option for survival was to avoid detection, in this case the captain attempted to disguise the tankers sillhouete against the backdrop of the mainland. It didn’t work! US Baleo class submarine USS Bumper (SS 333) came upon the tanker on it’s mooring. From this point the outcome was obvious.

11th June 2007

For this mission we used the original war report, combined with information from some local fisherman.

Seven divers from DJL Diving formed the expedition team - Alex, Gary, William, Andy, Matthew & JP, with Tim driving. We reached the mark around midday, and with only a minimum of searching got the sonar return we were looking for.

The wreck lies in very shallow water - max 14 metres! The explosive damage is enormous - the whole wreck is twisted and mangled. Wave action and O2 content at shallow depth has also been unkind to the wreck, but we still got a fascinating dive.
The bow still stands upright, with a large winching system located a little further back. A portion of the superstructure is still standing (see photo) and we saw some of the walkways still intact. I measured the beam to be about 10 metres, total length about 45 metres. JP reported finding a large section of the hull seperated from the main section. The steel hull is rotting, with many holes that you can now peer inside.

Top left: Alex & Matt look through a porthole, in the remains of the superstructure

Top Right: A brass plate on the end of a pipe

Bottom: The remains of one of the walkways.

We’ll add some more photos in a few days, showing our journey out to the mark - refueling next to a fish processing boat, and what happens after you’ve travelled 200 miles on a rib!

If you want to dive this wreck, get on the Sampai Jumpa sailing liveaboard deperting June 18th. We’ll also get to check out WW2 marks for the tug and barges that we originally intended to investigate. After this liveaboard it’s likely we’ll have at least one more wreck to report. Contact us for more information.