Indonesia’s Shipwrecks Mean Riches and Headaches

[Heritage preservation issues underwater]

Mentawai Islands, Indonesia. Mamat Evendi straps on his primitive breathing device — a garden hose attached to a compressor on the back of his wooden fishing boat. Pulling down his goggles, he splashes flippers-first into the crystal blue water.

A few minutes later he’s flashing a ‘thumbs up,’ pointing first to a massive, coral-encrusted anchor, then a bronze cannon and finally, peeking up from the sand, the buried deck of a 17th century European ship. Nearby are pieces of blue-and-white ceramics. A tiny perfume bottle. A sword handle. Broken wine flasks, one still sealed with a wooden cork.

The wreck is just 6 meters underwater, one of four pushed into view after a tsunami slammed into the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia just over a year ago. They are among possibly 10,000 vessels littering the ocean floor of what for more than a millennium has been a crossroads for world trade.

For historians, the wrecks are time capsules, a chance to peer directly into a single day, from the habits of the crew and the early arrival of religion to contemporary tastes in ceramics.

But for Evendi and other fishermen involved in the new discoveries, it’s not the past they see. It’s the future. A chance, maybe, to strike it rich.

“They keep telling me, ‘Let’s just break them open, get the stuff out,’” said Hardimansyah, a local maritime official who has taken it upon himself to protect the wrecks as the government wrangles over a new policy on underwater heritage.

“To be honest, I’m getting frustrated, too,” he says, noting he’s already given the best artifacts pulled from the coral and sand to military and political officials who stop by his office from time to time to see what’s been found.

“Gifts,” he calls them, or “offerings.”

“It’s hard to say no if they ask.”

Indonesia — a sprawling archipelago nation straddling the equator — remains desperately poor despite its vast oil, coal and gold reserves. Its graveyard of ships from Asia, Europe and the Middle East — one of the biggest in the world with nearly 500 wrecks identified so far — has long been coveted as yet another resource to exploit.

The most valuable, packed with everything from 9th century ceramics and imperial-quality gold boxes to exquisite jewels, funeral urns and inkwells, can bring in tens of millions of dollars.

That has created a small, lively industry for fishermen, who are often the discoverers of the wrecks. Those that aren’t immediately looted have been sold to commercial salvage companies, which pull up the cargo as quickly as possible and then sell it off piece by piece at international auctions.

The government, which gets 50 percent of all proceeds and half the cargo, decided to wrest greater control over the riches of the sea after being left empty-handed following one of the most significant hauls, a 9th century Arab sailing vessel whose presence pointed to previously unknown trading links between China and the Middle East.

“It’s frustrating,” said Horst Liebner, an expert on Indonesia’s maritime history, who has helped catalog artifacts and shipbuilding techniques for both the government and salvage crews. “Because in the end, this isn’t about the odd treasure chest guarded by an octopus. It’s about the knowledge we can gain from proper excavation.”

With tens of thousands of artifacts already handed over, Indonesian museums should by now be richly stocked. Instead, shelves are all but bare. The most exquisite pieces have “disappeared.” And those of little or no monetary value are in musty warehouses, closed to the public.

Pictures remain on disk drives and painstaking research goes unpublished.

“In the end, all the artifacts, everything you put into data-basing,” said Liebner, “it’s just for nothing in this country, it seems. No one cares.”

For-profit excavations in the sea are legal in several countries, including Indonesia, that have yet to sign a 2001 UN convention on protecting underwater cultural heritage. But they rarely spark the outrage they would if carried out on land.

That’s in part because maritime archaeology is a relatively new discipline, developed only after World War II, and neither lawmakers nor the public have kept pace with the technological advances that have turned it from a romantic hobby into a thriving business.

Historians, however, abhor the practice.

“They are recovering only things that are monetarily valuable, and that might represent just 1 or 2 percent of the entire artifact assemblage,” said Paul F. Johnston of the National Museum of American History in Washington.

“Sometimes they blast through, dynamite, or pull apart artifacts that are historically or archaeologically far more important.”

International auction houses have also played a part by creating markets for the artifacts, he and others say, as have governments and museums that buy them and put them on display.

Slowly, however, attitudes are changing.

After a chorus of criticism, the Smithsonian Institution announced in December it was canceling a planned exhibition of cargo from the Arab vessel, which was found in 1998.

The German company involved in the excavations pulled up more than 60,000 pieces of China’s Tang Dynasty ceramics in just a few months, and then sold it to Singapore for $40 million.

Indonesia got $2.8 million — a mere fraction of what it was owed under its own law — and thousands of artifacts.

Privately, officials were furious.

But no one protested, presumably because the deal was linked to under-the-table “gifts” to high-ranking officials, as was common during and immediately after the collapse of Gen. Suharto’s dictatorship.

“I don’t think anyone will ever know exactly what happened,” said Helmi Suriya, director of the Underwater Heritage from the Education and Culture Ministry, with a laugh.

“Even when I asked, I didn’t get an answer,” he said. “But that was a different era. We didn’t even have an anti-corruption commission then.”

Indonesia has embraced democracy since Suharto’s ouster, and in 2010 it passed a law protecting underwater cultural heritage. But guidelines for implementation have been stalled by infighting.

Some officials, including Suriya, argue artifacts should stay inside the country, either beneath the water, as favored by UNESCO, or auctioned off locally.

“We should only allow underwater excavation for research and knowledge purposes, not for commercial,” he said.

Others say, in a graft-ridden country of some 18,000 islands and more than 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) of coastline, that’s unrealistic.

Wrecks left where they are will be immediately looted. And no one, least of all the government, will assume the cost or risk excavations without the promise of a big payoff, they say.

So for now, all excavations are on hold.

Fred Dobberphul, a German diver, who has been involved numerous salvage projects in the last two decades, says that’s causing its own problems.

“Those of us who are legal, who have a legal company, we are not allowed to work,” he said.

“But everyone else is going out and looting — the fishermen too,” he said. “They bring it up to the antique shops and go to the collectors and it’s gone. All the information is gone.”

So far 463 wrecks have been discovered off Indonesia, according to the National Committee of Underwater Heritage, made up of representatives from 15 ministries and government bodies, but up to 10,000 more are believed to be on the ocean floor, according to documents from China and other countries about ships that headed here never to return.

Almost all have been found in the waters between Indonesia and the Asian mainland. Only around a dozen have ever been found in the Mentawais, a string of tiny islands on the western side of the country, where the open seas were riskier.

But that doesn’t mean those westerly isles don’t have a story to tell, said Liebner, the maritime expert.

They doomed ships may have been visiting ports or naval bases along Sumatra island’s western coast, he said, or dodging hefty taxes or pirate-infested waters.

But there’s little chance of finding out, he said, noting that looters will probably get there first.

Hardimansyah, who has just spent four days with his crew at the site of the 17th century ‘luxury’ ship, is starting to believe that too.

His teams of fishermen jump back into the water to cover the deck with sand and coral and then prepare for their 16-hour overnight voyage home.

As they pull the hoses back onto the deck and wrap them into a tight coils, the sun dips beneath the horizon, streaking the ash sky with heavy strokes of orange.

The captain cranks up the engine and, as it settles into a low murmur, a group of dolphins arrive, swimming alongside the blue-and-red boat.

The romance, however, has worn off for Evendi and the other men.

“I’m really getting tired of waiting,” says the 40-year-old father of three as one diver pulls out a guitar and another prepares a meal of fresh lobster.

Normally, he spends his days scouring the reefs for Nemos and other marine life for saltwater aquarium.

But now, he says with a smile, he has the treasure hunting bug as well.

“I don’t want to be a fisherman for the rest of my life.”

Associated Press

75,000 ‘heritage crimes’ committed in a year

More than 200 crimes a day are being committed against Britain’s historic sites, a report warns today, prompting fears that “irreversible harm” is being done to the country’s heritage.

The official study found that more than 75,000 “heritage crimes” took place in 2011.

Criminals targeted World Heritage Sites, listed buildings, churches, parks and gardens, battlefields, conservation areas and shipwreck sites, according to English Heritage.

The damage suffered included metal theft, vandalism, graffiti and arson, with one in eight important sites being attacked.

Experts warn that the “alarming” figures show that Britain’s history is being destroyed in an “insidious and often irreversible way” for future generations.

More than 30,000 listed buildings suffered substantial damage while anti-social behaviour around heritage sites was commonplace, the study found.

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.

Artifacts looted from shipwreck

 By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.

Inquirer Visayas

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/160345/artifacts-looted-from-shipwreck

The National Museum has asked the Roxas City government to declare a shipwreck area off the coast of Capiz’s capital a cultural and heritage site to help prevent the looting of artifacts, some dating to the 14th century.

Edwin dela Rosa, senior researcher of the museum’s cultural properties division, said his office had requested the city council through Mayor Alan Celino to pass a resolution or ordinance declaring the area in Barangay (village) Culasi a heritage site.

“This would ensure that the area will be protected because we have already received reports of continued lootings by divers in the area,” Dela Rosa told the Inquirer in a telephone interview yesterday.

Celino said the city government was willing to pass the ordinance to ensure that the area will be protected and to convert it into a tourist site.

A two-member team from the underwater section of the National Museum’s archaeology division inspected the shipwreck and gathered samples last week after receiving reports that centuries-old porcelain materials had already been recovered and sold to collectors.

The porcelain materials were most likely from the Ming (1368-1644) and Ching (1644-1911) dynasties, Dela Rosa said.

The ship that sank to a depth of 130 feet is believed to be a Chinese trade vessel or a Spanish galleon.

The National Museum learned of the shipwreck three weeks ago and that at least 70 pieces of porcelain materials believed to have been stashed from the wreckage were being sold to collectors.

Only fragments and other broken pieces were found in the surface, Dela Rosa said. The looting of archaeological materials is a criminal offense under Republic Act No. 10006 or the National Cultural Heritage Act.

Coast Guard personnel have been guarding the area since last week, said Bryan Argos, curator of the Roxas museum.

Under Threat – The Wrecks of Subic Bay

Divers have just started to discover the 19 fabulous war wrecks of Subic Bay – but ruthless salvagers are also on the hunt.

An article by Dive Magazine

As a naturalist, the notion of endangered wildlife under threat from poachers is, sadly, an all too familiar theme. But I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the notion that a hunk of rusting metal weighing several tons could be under a similar kind of threat. Yes, I’d heard of wrecks that were deteriorating from saltwater immersion and currents, and I’d heard of divers looting portholes and other artefacts from wrecks, but the idea that an entire shipwreck could simply disappear almost overnight was a new concept. Yet I was presented with written documentation alleging that in the last few years at least ten shipwrecks had disappeared entirely from Subic Bay, which lies just northwest of Manila, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They had been cut up or blown apart and hauled off for scrap metal. Other wrecks had been looted and seriously damaged, including the two most historically important wrecks in the Bay, dating from the Spanish-American and Second World Wars respectively. These are not just national treasures of the Philippines, but wrecks of international significance. Some of the damaged wrecks are war graves.

Photo: Japanese patrol boat in Triboa Bay Doug Perrine

The inability of the Philippines government to protect these historical shipwrecks has led to allegations of complicity of some authorities with the illegal salvage operations. Cloak-and-dagger stories swirl, and yet few people are willing to speak on the record about what is happening. There is a sense that one’s safety and even one’s life could be in jeopardy for talking about certain subjects. One story had a group of visiting divers entering a shipwreck, and finding all the compartments rigged with explosives and ready to blow. In another case, a group of divers is said to have gone down on a shipwreck site only to find that the entire wreck had vanished, leaving only a depression in the sand. In all cases, I was unsuccessful in speaking with an actual witness.

Triboa Bay, Subic. Photo: DP

One fact is beyond doubt: Subic Bay has one of the highest concentrations of war wrecks within sport-diving range in the world. According to the Subic Bay Historical Museum, 19 wrecks dating from the Spanish-American War to the Second World War have been identified in Subic Bay. Ironically, these wrecks have only recently been opened to sports divers, at the same time they have become the target of ruthless salvagers. For years, the US Navy kept access to the bay extremely restricted, and banned all diving, except by Navy personnel. The Navy is said to have employed native Aeta tribesmen armed with poison-dart blowguns to eliminate intruders, among other methods. It was only after the facility was returned to the Philippines in 1991 and converted to a free-zone economic area that wreck-diving enthusiasts were able to start exploring this treasure trove of history. That same year, Mount Pinatubo conspired to help conceal the Bay’s secrets by tossing out massive quantities of volcanic ash in a catastrophic eruption. Large quantities washed down rivers into Subic Bay, partially burying some of the wrecks and injecting huge quantities of silt into the Bay. Gradually, however, the silt is washing away. Dive operations are proliferating, and Subic Bay is rapidly becoming a world-class wreck diving destination, as well as a general ecotourism and recreation destination. Apart from the historical interest of many of the wrecks, Subic Bay has the advantage that most of its wrecks are in depths easily accessible to sport divers, and most are within a 20-minute boat ride from the dock. Furthermore, as it is almost enclosed by land, the bay offers calm, protected waters under all but the most extreme weather conditions.

The American WWII Liberty Ship, El Capitan (USS Majaba) Photo: DP

The same physical attributes that make for easy diving conditions at Subic Bay also made it an obvious place to establish a naval station. Spain, the first colonial power in the Philippines, established an arsenal and ship-repair facility on the banks of Subic Bay in 1885. The stone gateway to this facility still stands in the beachfront area. In 1898, upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, the Spanish commander sank the gunboat San Quentin and two smaller wooden boats to block one of the entrances to Subic Bay, but retreated to Manila Bay upon finding that the shore batteries at Subic Bay had not been completed. The San Quentin is now one of the major dive sites in Subic Bay, despite some damage from illicit salvage operations. The USS New York, an armoured cruiser, now lying on the bottom a few kilometres from the San Quentin, also played a part in the Spanish-American war, participating in attacks on Spanish facilities in Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Twin 8 inch deck guns on USS New York Photo: DP

The American Pacific fleet, commanded by Commodore George Dewey, bypassed Subic Bay, and defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Manila Bay in May 1898. Filipino rebels overran the abandoned facilities at Subic Bay, and held them for a year until defeated by US forces. In 1900 the Americans established the Subic Bay Naval Reservation. It was used to train forces and repair ships before, during, and after the First World War.

Aircraft engine on the 'Hell Ship' Oryoku Maru Photo: DP

Within a few days of the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japanese air raids on the Philippines commenced. One attack shot down seven US PBY planes into Subic Bay. The Americans abandoned Subic Bay, scuttling ships and dry-dock facilities, and the Japanese occupied the bay in January 1942.

American WWII landing craft utility Photo: DP

By 1944, the fortunes of war had turned. American air raids sank a number of Japanese vessels in Subic Bay that year. American forces landed in the Philippines in October, and the Japanese began to organise their withdrawal. Allied prisoners of war (POWs) were rounded up and crammed by the thousands into the holds of ships to be transported back to Japan to be used as slave labour. These ships were termed ‘Hell Ships’ by the survivors, who numbered only a small portion of the prisoners that were forced onto the ships. One of the most infamous of these vessels was the Oryoku Maru, a former luxury cruise liner pressed into military service. Japanese soldiers and civilians occupied the quarters above deck while the American POWs below, without food, water or ventilation, suffered, died, and descended into madness under treatment so inhumane that the Japanese officers in charge were later sentenced to death at war crimes trials.

90m long El Capitan (USS Majaba) Photo: DP

Shortly after leaving Manila, the Oryoku Maru was attacked by American planes and badly damaged, with hundreds of Japanese and Americans killed. Without the red cross marking required by the Geneva Convention, the American gunners had no idea that POWs were aboard. The Oryoku Maru limped into Subic Bay where it was attacked again, killing more of both nationalities. After it was evacuated, a final bombing set it ablaze and sent it to the bottom, where it rests today. The suffering of the prisoners was not over, however, as they were forced onto another unmarked Hell Ship, which was also bombed. Many of those who survived that nightmarish voyage succumbed to disease, exposure, and starvation during their internment in the slave labour camps in Japan, so that few of those who initially boarded the Oryoku Maru ever returned home.

Lionfish on the Seian Maru Photo: DP

In 1945 the Japanese abandoned Subic Bay, and it was re-occupied by the Americans, who began ship repairs there. After the war, a large number of vessels were brought there to be repaired or converted, and a number of these sank in the Bay due to storms, accidents, or their decrepit condition. During the Vietnam War, Subic Bay became home to the US Seventh Fleet, and a major centre for military R&R (rest and recreation), as well as training and repairs. During the 1960s up to 47 ships were in port each day. The number of vessels that have sunk here over the years will probably never be known, and new discoveries are made each year. It is even rumoured that Spanish galleons and Chinese junks have been found outside the Bay in deep water. Certainly there are more wrecks known in the Bay than a diver could expect to visit in a week’s diving holiday.

The Barges Photo: DP

The queen of the Subic wrecks is the USS New York. Built in 1891, her original designation was ACR-2, the second in a line of armoured cruisers. Her sister ship, ACR-1, was converted to a battleship and renamed the USS Maine. The sinking of the Maine instigated the Spanish-American War, in which the USS New York also fought. The New York became the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet and Pacific Squadron, and participated in the First World War and other conflicts before finally being scuttled in Subic Bay in December 1941 to prevent capture by invading Japanese forces. At 110m long, it is one of the largest wrecks in the Bay. It is one of the few wrecked warships to be found with its deck guns intact. Both sets of twin 8in cannons are still in place, as is the massive prop. The wreck lies on its port side in 27m of water, with parts of the superstructure in 18m or less. Pirates have cut openings into some of the compartments in order to loot brass and bronze items, but it is still mostly intact.

The Seian Maru lies at 25m Photo: DP

Although not intact, the Spanish-American war wreck San Quentin is also an impressive wreck. The bow and stern sections are easily recognisable, as are the massive boilers used to power the steam engines. After more than a century underwater, the wreck is covered with a luxuriant growth of soft corals, sponges and crinoids, and populated with a dazzling array of fish and invertebrates. It is an easy dive in only 6–18m of water, and has a nice shallow reef next to it, upon which can be found some large giant clams. Situated near the mouth of the Bay, it is one of the few sites that gets any significant current on occasion. In compensation, the water is often a little more clear here than further into the Bay.

The propeller on the USS New York Photo: DP

Flattened by explosives to reduce the hazard to navigation, and subsequently cut open by salvage divers looking for the rumoured treasure known as ‘Yamashita’s Gold’, the Oryoku Maru nonetheless remains an impressive wreck. The propeller is still intact, and the engine of a Japanese Zero sits just outside one of the cargo holds. A dense school of big-eye trevally is nearly always present on the wreck. It lies in 15–20m, only a stone’s throw from the commercial pier. The dark-green water at this location only adds to the spooky ambience brought on by the knowledge of the atrocities committed on this Hell Ship. Another wreck of particular historical significance is the Lanikai, a schooner-rigged yacht, which was featured in the film The Hurricane before being commissioned by the US Navy in December 1941. It was secretly assigned to shadow Japanese naval movements and report intelligence. Its commanding officer later concluded that its real purpose was a suicide mission to provoke a Japanese attack that would draw the US into the war. The Lanikai was recalled after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and ironically sank in a typhoon in 1947. It lies at 31m.

In addition to the wreck dives, Subic Bay offers a few reef dives that, while pleasant, have little to distinguish them from the many other reefs in the region. However, there is one dive available that is unique in all the world. An oceanarium located on the shores of Subic Bay, Ocean Adventure, offers a ‘dive with whales’ programme that allows guests to interact on scuba with trained false killer whales within the confines of a fenced section of lagoon. We don’t presume that this programme will appeal to anti-captivity activists, but it does allow those without such qualms to encounter these powerful and rarely-seen sea mammals under safe and controlled, if mostly unnatural, circumstances.

The officers of Ocean Adventure, keenly aware of the controversy generated by such programmes, are quick to point out that their animals were rescued from a Japanese drive fishery and would otherwise have been killed (opponents claim that the added income from live animal sales just encourages the drive fishery), and that their captive animals serve as ambassadors for environmental education, as well as forming the basis of the business that enables them to fund various environmental activities, and provide the employment that fights both poverty and environmental degradation. Ocean Adventure also offers both reef and wreck diving, and sponsors programmes dedicated to preserving local reefs and wrecks.

The whales (actually large members of the dolphin family) and some bottlenose dolphins usually sent out at the same time, come close enough to touch (which is allowed). That’s a good thing, because you can’t see very far in the algae-tinged water. Visibility is somewhat better out on the wreck sites, but is still subject to algal blooms and silt suspension. Divers are best advised to visit during the dry season, from November to May, but even then visibility is quite variable, and ranged from about 5m to perhaps 15m during my visit. While this is an issue for photographers such as myself, I would think that divers who are there mostly for the historical interest wouldn’t find it much of a hindrance, as usually only a small section of a wreck is being examined at a time anyway. Divers can do their bit to save the threatened wrecks merely by coming to Subic Bay and diving, thus contributing to the economic incentive to preserve, rather than exploit, as well as temporarily adding more eyes on the water to deter illegal activities.