An Open Letter – The Need to Act on Subic Bay Wreck Preservation

Early Days

The campaign is off to a slow start – but I wasn’t expecting anything dramatic. The main intention is to raise the issue publicly – as the wreck looting is something that’s happened sporadically for many years but never drawn much public attention or priority with the local authorities. If you’re reading this article due to a Google search or social media link, then it’s a good thing – because news of the damage being done to Subic’s wrecks was pretty much just word-of-mouth gossip before now.

I intend to use this website as a means to document, report and publicize wreck preservation issues in Subic Bay… not allowing the issue to be ‘brushed under the carpet’. Ideally, it’ll also serve to educate the authorities involved about the importance of the issue, along with some recognition for the non-official organizations/parties who can contribute towards wreck preservation – if properly included in the process.

Support from the Diving Community

At a later stage, I might draw together a petition that will illustrate the public attention on the issue and help demonstrate the impact of wreck degradation to the tourism potential for the area. I’ve not done that yet, because I feel that public awareness and concern over wreck preservation is lacking, especially amongst the diving community; who are normally highly motivated to preserve the marine environments.  In the case of shipwrecks, I feel that some environments are viewed as more critical than others.

There was a recent local campaign to prevent shoreline construction damage to a site called ‘Secret Bay’ in Batangas. This cause gathered rapid and heated public support. The same has not be true for Subic Bay. Most divers simply don’t understand that wrecks are marine ecosystems too… and that preservation of a wreck equates equally to preservation of a coral reef. I sense some apathy from the diving community about the issue and that needs to be addressed.

Representing Divers and the Scuba Industry

The primary body for ‘negotiations’ with the authorities will always be the Subic Bay Dive Association (SBDA), which comprises representatives from all of the local dive operations. However, they are limited in ‘protesting’ or ‘complaining’ out of a need to maintain working relationships with the authorities there. Making criticism or ‘blamestorming’ isn’t the way forwards to achieve a coordinated, multi-agency, impact for wreck preservation. That said, their official inclusion in the process of safeguarding and preserving the wrecks needs to be recognized officially – and valued.

‘Save our Subic Wrecks’ Campaign

The ‘Save Our Subic Wrecks’ campaign isn’t (yet) aimed to be a body that will directly negotiate with the authorities. However, if I can make some progress in gaining public support and involvement, then there is potential for such a role to develop. Until that time, I think the best function it can fulfill is to raise awareness (public and official) whilst retaining neutrality (no vested interests) and operating to facilitate the inclusion and perspectives of all bodies concerned – the enforcement authorities, the tourism department, the SBDA, the national museum and, with luck, some environmental conservation organizations. A lot of work remains to be done.

The Environmental and Conservation Perspective

The wrecks of Subic Bay represent critical ecosystems in the marine habitat of the Bay.  Shipwrecks are known to encourage the development and diversification of marine life species and also provide an ideal foundation for the growth of hard and soft corals. In that respect, it would be highly beneficial if conservation groups could be represented in the wreck preservation effort.  I am reaching out to local, national and international conservation organizations to become involved in the issue.

The National Museum – Guardians of Heritage

Another primary body, with an official focus, is the National Museum of the Philippines – who have the regulatory powers to preserve and protect the wrecks as ‘cultural heritage’. I know they’ve been active recently in Subic – assessing the USS New York after reports of damage done. I don’t know the results of that yet. As with all things in the Philippines, they have the regulatory power, but their capacity to enforce those regulations is limited by the capacity of the local authorities.  They are also only concerned with preservation – which can sometimes be the enemy of scuba divers. I think their involvement has been the cause of recent ‘bans’ on sport diving on certain wrecks – which can be frustrating and detrimental for the SBDA, who are the only organization able to constantly monitor and report upon the  condition of the wrecks…and whose regular presence on wreck sites is a practical deterrent to the looters.

‘No-Diving’ Policies

Banning the dive operations from the wrecks only serves to deter further reports of damage. In that respect the authorities/museum seem to be ‘biting the hand that feeds them‘ – punishing the primary protectors of the sites. Recent  diving bans, following SBDA reports of damage sighted on the wrecks, is causing speculation about whether future damage/illegal activities should be reported to the authorities. That would be a huge step backwards for the preservation of the wrecks. Diving the wrecks is the life-blood to these businesses. Sadly, engaging pointless ‘temporary bans’ on the wrecks seems to be the current modus operandi  reaction by the authorities- who have to be seen to do ‘something’… and a temporary diving ban allows them to be seen as having ‘taken action’, whilst not succeeding in addressing any of the issues at hand or deterring the actual perpetrators.

The Role of Recreational Diving In Wreck Preservation

Dialogue is needed to ensure that local authorities and the museum can officially recognize the contribution being made by the SBDA – and their role in monitoring and protecting the wrecks. A formal, published, code of practice for wreck diving in the Bay might help that – although I know from first-hand experience that the dive operations present are extremely responsible in their operating practices on the wrecks – much more so than in other areas I have dived – and already institute a variety of policies (i.e. Project Aware ‘Protect Our Wrecks’) to ensure that their activities don’t have a negative impact on the wrecks.

Enforcement and Regulation

Local harbor and police authorities need to accept who the perpetrators are. Evidence suggests that this is a local issue – not professional salvage. Common sense dictates that the ‘sport diving’ businesses aren’t to blame for the illegal salvage and damage to the wrecks. With the decline of local fishing stocks due to dynamite fishing practices, those local fishermen are desperate to source income for their families. With few fish now available, they are turning their homemade dynamite to a different use – blasting wrecks for a ‘catch’ of steel (and copper and brass..).

This is a low intensity operation, but it has been sustained over a long time.  Once damage is done, it is permanent.  Unlike a coral reef, a shipwreck will not recover or grow once protection is in place.  The damage is immeasurable in respect of heritage protection, environmental conservation and the development/sustainability of tourism revenue.  It is NOT a victim-less crime.

Tourism and Local Livelihood

The SBMA Tourism Department also needs to become engaged on the issue – in order to lobby and protect the interests of the SBDA members, resorts, trade suppliers and all those who benefit from tourism revenue. The tourism department should have a vested interest in the wreck preservation and access for divers. Sadly, I honestly think that the tourism department has an incomplete awareness of why many national and international visitors (scuba divers) come to Subic Bay.  For this reason, tourism leaders need to recognize the shipwrecks as actual resources and attractions that stimulate a large proportion of the tourism market in the region. If the wrecks disappear (or are made off-limits to divers), then the dive operations will close. The associated resorts will also close. The suppliers and those who indirectly profit from tourism activities will struggle.  Any semblance of overseas tourism will end rapidly without the wrecks as an attraction for divers.

A Sad State of Affairs

It’s a sad state of affairs that these wrecks aren’t  being effectively protected – even within the monitored surrounds of a working harbor/port.  If valuable heritage, environmental and tourism assets cannot be effectively protected within a controlled environment such as Subic Bay, then what hope do we have for the protection of other assets in less safeguarded locations around the Philippines?

Subic Bay is one place where effective conservation and preservation CAN be achieved.  It COULD be a showcase example of effective integration of effort towards a unified goal.  It SHOULD be a glowing testimony to the determination and commitment of the Philippines towards protecting their heritage, their natural resources and a cause of pride through attracting the interest of visitors for those very reasons.

The capability to successfully preserve the wrecks exists – what lacks is the awareness of the need to act … and the commitment towards doing so.  That applies to all of us.