The Wrecks of North West Borneo - Wreck Diving in Malaysia

The following information on Northern Borneo wrecks was taken with kind permission from the Panaga Divers of Brunei

web site http://www.panagadivers.com

Many thanks to Mark Tuttle, John Elder and also Maurice Davidsons book Brunei Laut.

In the table below is a list of all the known wrecks within north west Borneo, chose a link to find out more -

For those of you that are a little mystified, the four wrecks listed here nos 8-11 are the famous Labuan wrecks:- Mabini Padre is 'The Blue Water Wreck', Tung Huang is the 'Cement Wreck', De Klerk is the 'Australian Wreck' and USS Salute is the 'American Wreck'.

The Atago Maru (Piasau) and Toho Maru were bombed and torpedoed within two days of each other in November 1944.

*It is now known that the Toho Maru is actually the wreck of the Yuho Maru. The trouble is that I've called it "The Toho" for so long that I can't change! Please bear with me. The Shinonome has been a long standing mystery. It was bombed and sunk 'off Miri' in 1941. The wreck listed above as the Shinonome probably isn't, however, it just might be the bows of the Yuho Maru.

Notes on GPS coordinates are given on these web pages. All coordinates quoted in this page are quoted in degrees; decimal minutes based on Timbalai 1948 datum not WGS84. Please note, however, that Brunei Shell's aviation department (along with aviation standards world-wide) use WGS84. For further information on the use of GPS Click Here.

The wrecks of Brunei, Labuan and Miri (Click on the red balls)

Brunei (and to stretch the area ever so slightly by including the waters west of Labuan) has eight large wrecks (>1,000 tons) and several smaller ones. The best wrecks are marked in red dots above. Click on the dot to find out more about the wreck. The four wrecks around Labuan were discovered by Maurice Davidson and the divers at the Bandar end of the country after years of painstaking research. The searches, the excitement of the discovery, and the diving experience are vividly described in Maurice's book "Laut Brunei - Brunei Sea". At our end of the country, we are lucky. Brunei Shell has surveyed most of the sea-bed and the coordinates of wrecks and obstacles are easy to obtain. However, let this not detract from the huge efforts expended to find the Toho Maru* before the days of GPS.

It is worth pointing out, that many of these wrecks were dived by Bruneian divers well before the formalised dive clubs appeared on the scene, and this continues today. For example, when Panaga Divers first dived the Petani Mistral six months after its sinking, it had already been dived many times by divers from Tutong. Consequently, some of the text below that refers to "the first dive on wreck so-and-so", applies only to Panaga, the Garrison and Bandar clubs. Almost certainly, the local divers had been and gone long before. Nevertheless, we do believe that, for the first time, in 2002, the 'big four wrecks' (top four below) were dived in one year by Steve Holyoak, Dave Boardman and John Elder. To our knowledge, only John has ever dived all eight big wrecks in one year (2002).

The wrecks in the area suffer from the fact that they all lie on a silty sea-bed. Frustratingly, oceanic water can be found right down to within 10 metres of the bottom where the visibility can drop from 30 to 4 metres or even less. The wrecks that lie in this zone can suffer very poor visibility. In fact, only the Pacific Boxer, Petani Mistral, Tung Huang and Mabini Padre rise above this zone. However, on some rare occasions, the visibility is good right to the sea-bed. These are rare dives. Let me describe two experiences to illustrate this point.

On the 19th April 2003, we shotted the 'Toho' (Toho Maru) in calm conditions with no apparent current. The echo sounder reading was good, and the GPS coordinates spot on. (GPS is accurate to within 10 metres these days thanks to the removal of selective availability. All you have to do is get the datum right!). As Gavin O'Keefe and myself descended the line, it was obvious that the vis. was deteriorating even from 20 metres. At 48 metres, the vis. was down to two metres and there was no sight of the wreck, the deck of which rises to 49 metres. At 54 metres, we were below the sea-bed and thus in the scour that surrounds the wreck, but which way to go?  A feeble attempt at a circular search was quickly abandoned as we decided to surface and stop the second pair from entering the water. Rechecking the coordinates suggested that we couldn't be more than 15 metres north-east of the wreck! The second pair gave it a go and at least found the bottom at 56 metres! This is not a comfortable situation. The scour around the Toho drops to this depth which means that the pair were within a few metres of the Toho but the danger is that a search will take the divers into the open end of the wreck leaving no clear route out. Time to abort the dive and wait for better conditions.

On the 18th July 1993, we had developed a new technique for shotting. A thin 'speed shot' was thrown onto the wreck, and the first pair would then follow the line down, towing a proper shot line. I did this by finning down on my back, which also allowed me to keep 'Toho virgin', Beverley Howe, in sight. Passing the usual huge school of Barracuda at about 25 metres, Beverley's eyes opened wide and she indicated something behind me. I rolled over to be greeted by a clear view of the entire wreck, floating, it seemed, on a mustard coloured river. Dives like that are to be savoured, and talked about endlessly afterwards. Only once have we actually seen the seabed clearly. This revealed that the rudder is hard over to port and that the top blades of the propeller are visible.

Some of the wrecks described below are deep, and best dived on trimix with a strong nitrox mix for decompression. Regard the following picture to put the various wrecks in perspective before you venture out.

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Toho Maru

Approximate position: 4o 50’ N  114o 10’ E

Date of sinking: 26th November 1944

Wreckage lying about 17 miles north of Kuala Belait has been well known to local fisherman for decades. The wreck was precisely located by Shell's Topographic department  in 1970, however, the first divers to locate the wreck and dive her were Ed Ehlman and some friends in 1979. The discovery was reported in the Borneo Bulletin with the wreckage identified as the stern of the Toho Maru.

For a detailed account of the wreck please go to 'The Wreck of the Toho Maru'

This wreck was subsequently identified in 2004 as the 'Yuho Maru', not one of the three 'Toho Maru's' that were sunk in WWII. The 'Toho' class is twice the tonnage of the wreckage lying between the SW Ampa and Fairley fields.

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Petani Mistral

Approximate position: 5o 11.776’ N  114o 37.016’ E

Date & Time of sinking: 21:45  3rd February 1995

The Petani Mistral sank after being swept onto a leg of the rig, Trident-12. Apparently these ships are not as tough as they look!

The vessel sits upright in 47 metres with the mast rising above 30 metres (Both the main mast and fore mast had fallen off - Sept. 2004). The wreck was first dived by Panaga Divers on 17th September 1995 on a trip lead by Jim Beavis. Although dived regularly by local divers, it was not visited by Panaga Divers again until 31st August 2002 and 12th September 2004. The superstructure is festooned in nets and is host to dense schools of fish making it one of the most attractive wrecks I've ever seen. Most doors and points of ingress are covered in nets. Penetrating the bridge, there are as many fish inside the wreck as outside. It is a truly magical dive, however, the two hour journey from KB requires good weather and careful planning.

The crane and superstructure are notable features. The masts have gone (September 2004).

(Left to right) The bridge and foredeck. Looking through the bridge which was filled with Ring-tailed cardinals (Apogon aureus). The 'jump-line to the shot; and the stern crane rising out of the murk. A massive, adult yellow-fin grouper (Epinephelus flavocaeruleus) patrols the wreck. (Photos JE and DC) 

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'Fishing Boat' near Petani Mistral
Approximate position:5o 12.800’ N  114o 35.891’ E
Date of sinking: Unknown
A few miles northwest of the Petani Mistral lies what is called a 'Fishing Boat'. To our knowledge, it has not been dived

Pacific Boxer
Approximate position: 4o 57.450’ N  114o 07.013’ E  (confirmed 2002) and 4o 57.530’ N  114o 06.967’ E  (confirmed 2004); amazingly, the two positions are 100 metres apart.
Date & Time of sinking: 07:05 on 30 July 1982  

The Pacific Boxer lies at a depth of 63 metres, upright and at an angle of approximately 5 degrees upwards to the bow. The vessel sank during anchor handling after two collisions with the stern anchor flukes of the barge Mantorek This is a deep wreck and even to look into the bridge windows (left) or to inspect the towing lights (right) requires diving deeper than 50 metres. The mast is intact and rises nearly to 40 metres, which provides a good reference point well above the bottom silty layer. Despite a similar appearance to the Petani Mistral (57 m long), this wreck (39 m long) has an entirely different character; basically, it lies 15 metres deeper. Arriving on the top of the superstructure puts the diver at about 51 metres. There are no schools of pelagic fish, although many smaller fish are around (see photos). Narcosis is ever present and a very limited bottom time occupies too much of the diver's awareness for a truly enjoyable dive. Panaga Divers have only dived this wreck four times. Once in 1993, again in 1995, 2002 and 2004. In 1993 and 2002, the wreck was found on the coordinates supplied above. In 2004, an alternative location was found (100 m away)! A slick of escaping fuel oil also revealed the presence of the wreck in 1993, and in 2004, it was still there and easily smelled!

As chance would have it, we dived in July 2003 with Steve Harris, the Swire manager from Singapore. We told him about our wrecks and he admitted to being the Captain of the Pacific Boxer, although, at the time of the sinking, he was on one of the other 'Pacific' vessels. Steve enjoyed diving on the platforms and he kindly sent us drawings of the Pacific Bloodhound, sister vessel of the 'Boxer. (Click on the relevant sections to see the plan view).

The mast is an excellent feature on which to tie the transfer line to the shot (left - 2004). If one had a sufficiently powerful torch,

the wreck would appear in a startling red riot of tubastrea, the most common growth (centre - 2002 SH; right - 2004 JE).

Southern Glory
Approximate position: 5o 21.853’ N  114o 38.759’ E
Date of sinking: 9th December 1993

Like many timber ships in the past, the Southern Glory sank in heavy weather after developing a dangerous list in a storm when its cargo shifted. This is a very deep wreck. Although it is a big ship (>5,000 tons), it lies in 63 metres on its port side, and the highest point of the starboard side lies at 53 metres. Like all the deep Brunei wrecks, the bottom 10 - 15 metres can be very silty with frustratingly poor visibility lying below crystal clear oceanic waters. 

Like many timber ships in the past, the Southern Glory sank in heavy weather after developing a dangerous list in a storm when its cargo shifted. This is a very deep wreck. Although it is a big ship (>5,000 tons), it lies in 63 metres on its port side, and the highest point of the starboard side lies at 53 metres. Like all the deep Brunei wrecks, the bottom 10 - 15 metres can be very silty with frustratingly poor visibility lying below crystal clear oceanic waters. 

Panaga Divers have been here twice; in 1995 and in 2002. It's a long way from Kuala Belait (54 n.miles), and a long way offshore. The divers in 1995 had reasonable visibility and saw the upper (starboard) propeller. In 2002, the shot crossed the wreck on the after end of the starboard bilge keel at 54 metres and the four divers who descended saw only a profusion of soft coral  (Dendronephthya sp.,) adorning said structure. The visibility was poor (2 metres) and the bottom time restricted by the marshall to 10 minutes due to imminent squalls on the surface.

Seng Ling II

4o 56.030’ N  114o 39.390’ E

1958

Seng Ling II (the Scout Rock wreck) was a 40 metre long landing craft that sank in the late 1950's. It lies inverted in 15 metres water. The vessel is thus rather featureless particularly since the propellers were removed in the early 1990's by Bob Lowe and Pius Cagienard. The vessel carried several spare bronze propellers of which one resides with Marco Lafeber (above right), and I'm not about to tell you where the others are !

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The Miri Wrecks

Atago Maru

Date of sinking: 28th November 1944

Built in Glasgow in 1924, this was one of the first diesel-engined, Japanese registered ships.  The vessel had a gross tonnage of 7,544 and twin screws. She was bombed by a B-24 of the USAAF 13th Air Force on 28th November 1944 and sank in 14 metres of water with much of the superstructure still visible.

Over the years, the monsoon waves demolished the superstructure and the ship slowly settled into the silty seabed, leaving only the two masts as an indication of her presence. The foremast fell down in 1981 and the aft mast a few years later. The wreck lists slightly to port leaving a scant one metre freeboard on the starboard side amidships. On the port side, the deck runs to the sea bed where there is considerable debris from the superstructure.

There were many portholes lying around in the late 1970's. There's not much left now, but this was a traditional British ship whose builders believed in brass!

The wreck lies in 13 - 14 metres with the bow rising to eight metres and the stern mast coming within a few metres of the surface, hence the nearby wreck buoy. The stern king-posts still stand and in low visibility can trick the diver into believing that the stern mast has been reached. The bows lie to the south. The visibility is strongly affected by the outflow of the Miri and Baram rivers. These rivers leave a greenish, fresher layer on top of the clearer sea water. If the waters are mixed and turbid, the visibility can drop to near zero, however, in calm conditions after periods of little rain, this can increase to 6 metres and occasionally yachtsmen see the wreck from the surface. The wreck can be penetrated, the swim-through from hold #1 to hold #2  being particularly atmospheric, however, beware, the wreck is extremely silty, and what hasn't collapsed yet will one day do so. Most of the tantalising holes and doors lead straight into 63 years of accumulated silt. The wreck is home to many scorpion fish; beware!

The best way to understand the ship is to look at the model below. It's a standard British pre-war five-hold design. The raised bows have massive bollards and anchor-handling winches. Just after are holds #1 and #2. The fore mast has fallen over. Use the starboard gunwale to navigate. The hatch cross beams are all in place. The bow gun was removed by the Malaysian Navy in the 1990's (?); it was there in 1978. The bridge superstructure has gone, but the absence of a hold and some collapsed plates show where it was. An odd looking enormous spoked wheel lies here; it is the remains of one of the bridge gun platforms. Aft of the bridge is hold #3. The engine-room superstructure, being lower is better preserved and some rooms can be entered. A skylight and several engine-room walkways and grating are visible, but the diesels are many metres below the sea-bed. Two of the port davits hang outwards. Massive king posts denote the beginning of hold #4 after which the huge mast reaches up towards the surface. Aft of this, the ship appears cut off. Even the divers from the mid-1980's never found the stern.

A model of the Atago Maru that explains more than any exisiting photograph.

Look how these bollards hangover empty space!       Engine-room skylight

The bows and the big forward winch (left) are easy targets and can be seen on the model. Two of the port davits hang outwards (right)

In 1978 (above using a telephoto lens from the Piasau Boat Club), the two masts of the wreck were part of the sky-line some three miles offshore.

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Shinonome

Date of sinking: 17th December 1941

Shinonome

The Shinonome, built around 1927 was one of the awesomely powerful Fibuki class of destroyer. The ship was 115 metres long and 10 metres wide. Twin turbines generated 50,000 hp and could drive the vessel at 40 kts. The ships proved fragile in heavy seas and subsequent modifications, including strengthening and flaring the bows, dropped the speed to 35 kts. Although there are various accounts, the currently accepted version is that the Shinonome was bombed by a Dutch flying boat, the X-32. Two bombs hit the ship and a third narrowly missed but the effect was a devastating explosion that ripped the stern off the vessel. The Shinonome sank quickly on 17th December 1941 with the loss of all 228 crew.

So is the wreck, three miles off the mouth of the Miri river the Shinonome ?

The wreck lies in 13 - 14 metres, is extremely broken and there tends to be poorer visibility than at the Atago Maru. The bow section rises from a slight scour in 15 metres to about nine metres and is canted well over to starboard. The hawse pipes and anchor holes are obvious as are three mooring bollards on each side close to the bow. A massive anchor-handling winch sits just astern where the bow is sheared off from the rest of the ship. The bow points southwest. Moving aft, there is broken wreckage and plates, but nothing big until a section of port hull and deck is encountered. Through this lies a large circular hatch leading into an empty space. The hull and deck abut with a slight raised lip but no evidence of railings. The stern is believed to lie on line with the ship.

The only half-decent shot I managed to take of the bows (25th August 2007) shows a diver swimming over the bollards. The bows appear to have a small raised fore-peak, however, so much plating has been lost that this may not be the case.

So what is this ?

I must admit, that my first impression was that the bow did not look like a destroyer; it appeared (to my eye) to be blunt, like the Atago Maru. It certainly looks nothing lie the bows of the USS Salute (a minesweeper). Also, what was the hatch leading into a large empty space. It reminded me of the Yuho Maru.

This started me thinking and I leave the reader with this picture of the bows of the Yuho Maru and the report of the sinking that was released at the time - The ship was hit by torpedo at 04deg 54min north, 114deg 07min east, approximately 35 kilometres NNE of Cape Baram, north west offshore Borneo, at 16:11 on 26th November 1944.  She was towed to Miri port and arrived there, but sank at 04:00 on 2nd December 1944. All the 26 personnel on board were killed by the torpedo hit.

So is this wreck, the bows of the Yuho Maru?

Grossly over-enlarged from a smaller picture, the raised forepeak, bollards and huge winch as they appeared on the bows of the Yuho Maru.

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