Diving in Koh Tao you get used to warm water and I was feeling the cold at the end of the first dive; a chilly 21 degrees, but we warmed up on the boat and during the surface interval entered a very large cavern. Legend has it that during the second world war a japanese sub’ used the cavern to effect repairs away from the eyes of the NZ navy patrols. Our second dive was made just outside the cave around kelp forests and swim-throughs. Cracking couple of dives in the Poor Knights; shame we have to move on,  thanks to the Jeroen and the team at diving.co.nz for making us feel so welcome. One more stop off and its back to Tao and some more diving expeditions…

Tim and the team from Ko Tao were up to old tricks in the straits of Mallacca recently, on an as yet, undisclosed island talking to fishermen for an upcoming expedition to look for a WWII Japanese shipwreck, The Maru which was lost in an action by the submarine, The Tally ho in 1943. The official War record report has the chart datum 50 metres in the area, so we’ll probably be running the expedition using a tri-mix. We were also there to secure logistical backup for Oxygen, Evac and boat transportation to the mark with another diving company in the area. When the team arrived we set off to talk to some fishermen and came across a Thai vessel which looked promising, Tim jumped on board the boat and was met by a group of irate Thais all wondering what this Farang was doing on their vessel; but soon had their tongues loosened and put their knives away when Tim pulled the chart out and offered cigarettes and whiskey. We managed to procure some very interesting new targets in the area. The trip is planned for the next neaps which is at Christmas time; watch this space…

The team comprised of Tim, Juliet and Fri.

We incorporate this type of research into our exploration diver package which is an add-on to the divemaster internship.

After chartering a local fishing boat the team of technical divers from DJL accidentally discovered the wreck after searching for a wreck of a WW2 British submarine.

The cargo vessel sits at 60m and has a huge crane lying next to the main hold of the ship. The cargo has spilled into the sand around the crane as a result of sinking. The bridge sits upright and has nets flying from its mast as if clawing for the surface.

The team also located and identified a Japanese submarine and a large boiler from a steamship believed to have fallen foul to a British submarine.

The team comprised of Fri, Jeremy, Tim 2 and was led by Tim Lawrence from Davy Jones’ Locker, all of whom plan to resume the search to identify the vessel as soon as possible

I led a team of technical divers from Davy Jones’ Locker to dive a shipwreck 54 nautical miles north east of Koh Tao called the Pangan. We chartered a boat from another dive centre, which was a converted fishing vessel and decided to tow the DJL rib to use as a safety boat.

Travelling out over night we arrived on the mark, dropped a lazy shot and ran some 56 meter profiles on the ship. After completing a successful days diving we began our journey back, the north east trade winds were evident and we had one metre swells coming across the starboard bow. After relaxing on the top deck for three hours the ship stopped dead in the water and the captain appeared a little flustered. He started pointing to the engine room so I went to investigate only to find the room full of water. At this point we got all our bilges together in an effort to pump the water out. The water level was still rising. One of the bilges was an independent engine; this started to flutter then conked out after trying to restart the Honda engine for several minutes.

I made the decision to abandon ship as the water was coming in too quickly then pulled the rib along side and starter to get her ready. I shouted to Gary to strip the twin sets, regs and wings and grab the extra gas we had taken along for our compressor. With the help of the team we tied the compressor and the twin sets down to the chartered boat. The captain dropped the anchor in an effort to stop the windward drift. I finally took the bags, the 4 tech divers and the thai crew away on the DJL rib. As the fishing boat left the surface we took one last look as she took her last breath, screaming with air intake. The GPS showed us to be 28 nautical miles from Koh Tao with an overloaded rib that was taking on water half an hour before sunset; we were not having a good day! We were unable to contact anyone on our VHF. After 2 hours of bailing water we crept into Hin Wong Bay, secured the rib and headed for the bar!

With a compressor and 5 twin sets on the sunken vessel I started thinking about salvaging it. We had a mark for the ship but they rarely sink in a straight line so we had to pick a good weather window as I expected the search to take some time. After 3 weeks we got our break and with a team of eight (four bottom and four support divers) we set off, this time using our big boat and rib. Again travelling overnight to the mark, we arrived on station at 06:00 and started to search using the rib. After around 20 minutes I picked up a return and after running over the anomaly a few times found that it was a bigger return than the expected target. This was around 70 meters long with a 5-metre beam rising from the bottom. As this wasn’t our target I continued to sweep, searching with the trusty trade winds. Four hours passed and I decided to return to the first finding. I dropped a shot on the mark and our first team entered the water for a look. An hour later they surfaced and reported a large sand mound with holes dropping through 3-4 metres, indicating an old sub bottom shipwreck. Excited by our find we continued to search for the compressor and after another 4 hours we located her just less than 1 nautical mile away from our original mark.

We got straight to work and I descended the shot line carrying another line to secure the compressor. This would allow us to relocate the compressor if the lift failed. I tied the shot to the bow and noticed a large hole, evidence of a collision. Luckily she was sitting upright so I quickly located the compressor at 62m and secured the second line. As I returned to the shot I came across the twin sets, cutting the rope that was tying them down we lifted them across the bottom of the shot. Whilst tying them off I clipped a bag on the line and started my ascent. After running the decompression I got onto the boat and briefed the team on the upcoming lift and carried out a dry run. We prepared the bags and lines on the boat then Gary entered the water. After 10 minutes the bags were on the surface. We lifted the compressor onto the boat, followed by the twin sets. The team then completed a second dive to free up the shot and on the way recovering the boats compass to return to the ships owner.

By Tim Lawrence, Davy Jones’ Locker

Enjoy:

Hatsutaka wreck dive video 1: Above the top of the bow section

Hatsutaka wreck dive video 2: Debris field beneath the bridge

Date: 7 – 13th September 2008

Destination: Southern Gulf of Thailand [departing from Koh Tao or Koh Samui]

Objective: WW2 Cargo Vessels

Depth Range: 40 – 70 metres [Trimix & CCR Rebreather supported]

 

Brief: Based on WW2 Allied submarine records combined with local knowledge, we’ve selected four targets in the Southern Gulf of Thailand. These range in size, up to 10,000 tonnes.

We’ve scheduled the trip to include 5 days of diving, planned for 2 dives per day. Depth will be in the 40 – 70 metre range, with low wave heights and good visibility expected at this time.

We’ll be diving from the Sampai Jumpa sailing liveaboard, supporting both open circuit [twin set with central isolation manifold] or ccr rebreather. Trimix and nitrox are available onboard.

The price is 50,000 baht per person OR 230,000 for the full charter, maximum 10 divers.

For inquiries please contact DJL Diving.

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.

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  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].Â

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.Â

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.

 

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

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! 

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.

Since we’re already paying for the diesel, we may as well make use of the journey and check out a few more potential wrecks to the north & North east of Koh Tao!

 

So tomorrow our first dive will be to revisit  the WW2 Schooner wreck, last dived when we located it in August, then continue to investigate four more fishermans marks during the journey across to Chumphon.

The most interesting is a mark which matches closely with a wreck position on one of our old shipping charts. The wreck must be a decent size to pose a potential problem [and thus be of interest] for shipping. We’ve never managed to locate this wreck – hopefully this new fisherman’s mark will help us find it. The chart was produced in 1986 – the survey data which was used to create this chart was probably collected well before that date, so we have our fingers crossed that its an old wreck, rather than a recent fishing boat. We’ll see!

The other marks are isolated but come from a reliable source, which has given us several other wrecks over the last 12 months – we’ll just have to see what turns up.

Dive expedition report will follow. . . .

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!

With wave heights less than 1 metre, we’ll be heading over 20 miles off-shore on our dive RIB to check out a war report for a Japanese WW2 vessel.

We’ve got two independent fishermans marks, located close to a report from a US submarine. If all turns out as we hope, we’ll be making our first deep wreck dive on a  WW2 Japanese auxiliary vessel. We estimate the depth to be around 55 metres, so are planning for deep air dives with O2 accelerated decompression. We expect the wreck to be 30 – 40 metres in length.

We’ll find out tomorrow. . . . expedition report will follow!

There are two departure dates available – leaving late on Sunday 18th May or Sun 25th May – each trip lasting for 5 days.

Planned dives include the HMS Repulse, Dutch Submarine KXVII and Seven skies Supertanker. We’ve planned for two dives per day, leaving from and returning to Singapore.

To see the report [including photos] from our last visit to the south China Sea click on this link: HMS Repulse Wreck Diving Liveaboard.

If you’re interested in finding out more, please e-mail DJL Diving.

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.

The Unicorn is a large cargo vessel, lying upright on the seabed close to Koh Tao. The wreck lists slightly to one side – the deeper side at 46 metres, with the sand off the side of the wreck at 48 metres.

This depth makes it perfect for us to run an introduction to technical diving – giving people a taster of decompression diving, allowing them to discover it they’re up to taking a full tec diving course.

We’ve just returned from an intro to tec session with future PADI DMT Rosie, Go Pro Intern Leona and retired Sairee Hut PADI Divemaster Storm.

Images:

1. DJL Diving instructor Matt and Storm on the RIB

2. A strong sonar return showing an image of the Unicorn Wreck standing proud of the seabed

3. DJL Instructor Arne prepares alongside Rosie & Leona for the deep wreck dive

We commence the intro to tec program with a theory session. This covers important concepts of deep diving – equipment, dive planning, decompression procedures, narcosis management . . . we normally run this session the evening before the dives are scheduled.

Images:

1. Many soft corals grow on the Unicorn Wreck north of Koh Tao

2. Colorful fish swim past a winch support on the Unicorn Wreck

On the day of the wreck dives, we load all the dive equipment onto the RIB then head out to the gps mark of the Unicorn Wreck. We time our arrival so that we reach the wreck during periods of slack tide to make the diving as easy as possible. First we locate the wreck using a sonar, then send two technical divers down to secure a line on the wreck (which we can then anchor our boat to).

We’ll then jump in for the first dive – descending down the line we plan for a 42 metre dive around the bridge area, for a planned bottom time of around 10 minutes. During the ascent, we’ll follow a simulated decompression schedule – we’ll make a 10 minute stop at 10 metres and conduct a respiratory minute volume check (RMV) to determine how much air you’re consuming. We’ll then step up and make simulated stops at 6 and 3 metres to assess your ability to control your buoyancy during decompression stops.

Images:

1. Coral crusted structure of the Unicorn

2. A beautiful soft coral growing on the wreck.

During the surface interval, we’ll look at the info collected on the first dive and project this into a second dive on the wreck. The second dive is likely to be a little deeper – in this case 46 metres for a 15 minute bottom time, with full deco during ascent. We’ll get to further explore the bridge and forward mast areas, taking a swim along the deck and inspecting the open cargo holds.

Images:

1. Tim deploys a lift bag during a dive on the Unicorn ship wreck

2. A ladder on the bridge of the Unicorn ship wreck.

If you’re interested in trying DJL Diving’s into to tec diving on the Unicorn shipwreck, contact us and we can discuss your wreck diving trip!

Images:

1. Rosie, Arne & Storm make a deco stop after their 46 metre wreck dive

2. Go pro intern Leona on a Unicorn Wreck dive

3. Rosie & Leona pose for a photo on the RIB mooring at Hin Wong Bay Koh Tao

Thanks to Stuart Shaw for the underwater images of the Unicorn Wreck.

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.

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.

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.

Taking advantage of the great conditions, we’re going to attempt to locate it in the next few days – we have a fishermans mark very close to the war report location, and expect the wreck to be lying at about 50 metres, so we’ll be tec diving it. This time the target it only 45 minutes from Koh Tao (by RIB), so it’s going to be a bit easier going!

I’ll report back what we find on this Blog!