In April 2013, ERDI was invited to conduct ERD I and ERD II training at the National Fire Agency Training Center in Nantou County, Taiwan. Administered under the Ministry of Interior, the training center campus encompasses over 7 km²/2.7 sq miles and offers nearly any conceivable training environment that a firefighter would encounter. Many of the programs, facilities and training regimen are inspired by facilities in North America and are compliant with NFPA guidelines. To say it was impressive is certainly an understatement.
During a short tour of the facilities, I had the opportunity to see training simulations ranging from shipboard evacuations by helicopter to swift water training to urban SAR in collapsed buildings. If you can imagine ordering up a current up to 14 knots, ending in a low-head dam, that is the environment that is used for swift water training which is a requirement for all new firefighters in training at this academy. Director of training, Mr. Hsiao, Huan Chang explained that before any new firefighter starts on the job, successful completion of basic training must occur. That training lasts 18 months and includes FF1, FF2, Swift Water, EMT, and Rescue Swimmer among other areas. Other training situations include structure fire in residential/manufacturing/retail settings, subway fires/evacuations, highway tunnels and train stations to name a few. It’s important to keep in mind that Taiwan is very prone to earthquakes and as such it deserves the high focus it receives at this facility.
Conducting ERD I and ERD II at the National Fire Agency Training Center was an amazing teaching experience. From the classroom setting with AV equipment to the pool where cylinders and weights were available to the open water training site on campus, anything needed was at hand. The open water training site was a perfect environment for training – – -zero visibility; mud bottom; both easy and difficult access and during the training dives an accidental oil discharge resulted in real world training.
The class roster consisted of 10 experienced firefighters and dive team members from all over Taiwan, the most junior of them having been on the job for nine years. Joining this course to audit the ERDI curriculum were representatives of the Korean Coast Guard and Korean Fire Service, as well as ERD Instructor Travis Jung from Korea. In talking with the candidates, I found a common theme often heard among dive teams and that was the need for structured training.
Starting in the classroom, ERD I academics were covered and then it was time for blacked out mask drills on land to practice tender skills, line signals and search patterns. Followed by more classroom time on drysuit and full face mask use.
This is important given that this is a region with warm water and warm air temperatures where drysuits are rarely, if ever, used. For some, this would be the first time in a drysuit.
After completing watermanship skills, drysuit, and FFM, training in confined water was next followed by ERD skills. Then it was off to open water dives, a lot of them. A small man-made pond on the campus provided a perfect location to complete the dives.
https://www.tdisdi.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/drilljpg-1.jpg302575dpace/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/logo-1.pngdpace2013-12-18 13:55:082021-09-17 16:39:41National Fire Agency Training Center – Taiwan
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, war erupted among several factions including the Republic of Bosnia – Herzegovina, Bosnian Serbs, Croatian and Serbian entities. During the conflict which lasted from 1992 thru nearly the end of 1995 when the Dayton Accords were enacted, a huge amount of shelling took place using mortars and artillery. Much of the shelling was random and arbitrary, resulting in unexploded ordinance in the Sava River which borders Bosnia and Croatia.
So, with that in mind, it’s been over 20 years that much of these unexploded mortar rounds and grenades have lain untouched, hidden from view and still very much alive. Much like top side mine fields, missions are undertaken to retrieve and render this unexploded ordinance to protect the public. This work is definitely not for the faint of heart and probably fair to say it’s not for the average public safety diver! However, ERDI-trained divers were there.
In September of 2012, teams and personnel from Croatian Army and Border Police, Bosnian Army and Border Police, along with Czech Republic Police ERDI divers, launched an initial mission to recover about 150 shells, 120 mm mortars from the Sava River. Normally, unexploded shells would be detonated in place, however this was not possible without putting the public at risk. So, out of the water it comes. Occasionally a mortar would be discovered that was extremely unstable and these would be destroyed in place.
In September of 2013, teams returned to the Sava River for more demining and removal. During this mission, over 3 tons of unexploded artillery shells were removed and then destroyed with well-placed explosives.
ERDI has a long history with our ERD Underwater Explosives Recovery course. To learn more about ERDI programs, visit tdisdi.com
We also extend our thanks to Michal Piskula of our Eastern Europe regional office for the use of his photographs.
https://www.tdisdi.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/erdi-img-02.jpg206300dpace/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/logo-1.pngdpace2013-12-17 21:59:282021-10-04 16:52:20Underwater Explosives – Live ordinance removal in Bosnia and Croatia
The recent Instructor Trainer Workshop (ITW) in South East Asia was held in Bali, Tulamben Ocean Sun Resort. On a clear sunny day, we could see Mount Agung, the highest volcano in Bali on the back and directly across the road from the resort is the Liberty Wreck, accessible simply from shore diving. This wreck is also one of the most dived location in Bali. All the diving logistics was arranged thru Tec Room, a new TDI Instructor Training facility in Bali.
Incidentally, the candidates for this ITW are all TDI Tech Instructors who are very passionate about diving and would not hesitate to do any dives to 100m any day. They are: Will Goodman from Blue Marlin Dive (Gili Trawangan), Dave Polley from Davy Jones Locker (Koh Tao), Ben Walzinger from Tec Room (Bali) and Ramon van Santen. Together, they carried with them years of diving experience and hundreds of hours exploring depths past the recreational limits of sports diving.
Throughout the entire ITW, all candidates displayed a great, open minded, and professional approach towards all the subjects covered during the ITW. They all worked hard and deserved to be an active Instructor Trainer in our Family. We would like to thank them for their great performance throughout this ITW, which was surely demanding, challenging and a great experience for everyone.
On a side note, some of the candidate even did early morning runs towards Mt Agung and a 60m shore dive at the liberty wreck at 6am in the morning. These are some things that doesn’t happen in all the ITW.
All the best to our newly certified Instructor Trainer. You have all earned the highest professional rating with TDI and SDI. We wish you all the best for your future with TDI SDI and beyond.
For more information on how you can become an Instructor Trainer with SDI/TDI/ERDI, visit us here >
https://www.tdisdi.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_3960-scaled.jpg19202560dpace/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/logo-1.pngdpace2013-12-09 19:24:252013-12-09 19:24:25Instructor Trainer Workshop in Bali
OK, before drilling into a few of the real benefits and surprises waiting for us when we decide on International Dive Travel, and certainly one of the most interesting associations with “foreign lands” in my diving career, we need to walk through a very quick geography lesson, followed by an equally brief history lesson!
Newfoundland is a big island off the east coast of North America. In fact, it is the most easterly point in the whole of North America and Signal Hill outside of Newfoundland’s capital St. John’s is where Marconi set-up his apparatus to receive the first radio signal sent skipping across the Atlantic from Cornwall, England in 1901. Like most of that part of the world, Newfoundland is rich in Celtic culture thanks to the influence of its early Ulster-Scot settlers, and the locals still sound more Irish than American. The waters surrounding the island are chilly (think icebergs drifting down from nearby Greenland… even in June!), are filled with the most amazing marine life — including many species of whale and are home to four of my favorite shipwrecks… anywhere in the world. We’ll get to those in a few moments.
When the Second World War erupted in Europe, Newfoundland — which today is a Canadian province — was part of Great Britain. Hence, when that country’s Prime Minister declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, Newfoundland was automatically part of the Allied headcount. Canada followed close behind them, but it was not until a very closely fought referendum ten years later in 1949, that Newfoundland joined the Canadian Federation to become one of its ten provinces.
So, what about those wrecks? Just outside of the city of St. John’s in the middle of Conception Bay sits a small blob of land called Bell Island, and Bell Island had a very productive mine that exported iron ore to steel mills in several countries including those in Cape Breton, Canada. At the outbreak of war, these mills a little to the south in Nova Scotia, accounted for about a third of Canada’s steel production. With shipments from the Bell Island Mine to German factories cut off because of the war, it was inevitable at some point that the Germans would attempt to interrupt production and throw a “spanner in the works” for the Allied war effort. And interrupt they did.
On the night of September 4th, 1942, a German U-Boat sneaked into the anchorage at Wabana, Bell Island where ships loaded ore to be carried away to various “customers”. The next morning and within sight of the guns of the Bell Island Battery, the U-Boat sank two ore carriers moored at the loading docks: SS Saganaga and SS Lord Strathcona. Twenty-nine men were killed in the attack, all of the victims were seamen aboard the Saganaga.
The Battle of the Atlantic had suddenly come to within a few hundred metres of North America’s shoreline.
The strategic importance of the mines on Bell Island did not diminish of course, and just a couple of months after the first attack, a second U-Boat crept into Wabana and found several ore carriers at anchor.
The U-boat captain fired a torpedo at the 3000-ton Anna T. It missed and exploded ashore ripping into part of the loading dock and disturbing the sleep of many inhabitants on the island. In the next several minutes, two more torpedoes were fired at SS Rose Castle. Rose Castle sank, taking twenty-eight of her crew with her, five of whom were native Newfoundlanders. The Free French vessel PLM 27 was the second target. She sank almost as soon as a torpedo hit, taking twelve men to the bottom of the bay with her.
In the space of less than 15 minutes, two ships, several thousand tons of ore and 40 men had been lost. The U-boat escaped even though there were three allied navy escort vessels in the area.
The four Bell Island wrecks sit today at reasonable depths (the PLM 27 the shallowest at around 23 metres / 75 feet, the Rose Castle the deepest at 43 metres / 145 feet), and within a radius of a few minutes boat ride of each other and only a stone’s throw from land.
When I was first invited to dive the Bell Island wrecks, I must admit that Newfoundland seemed as remote to me as the dark side of the moon. Newfoundland was’ at least in my ignorance, nothing but folk singers, remote fishing communities, moose, and wild, wild countryside battered by strong winds and salt spray off the North Atlantic. Through a number of visits over the following few years, I discovered that it was all of this and so much more.
The wrecks were one of the first surprises. Four shipwrecks each more interesting and more crammed with history than the last. After the first handful of dives, I christened the area Truk Lagoon North. Perhaps using a little poetic license but the things that seemed common to both areas were history, the awe inspiring evidence of the destructive power of torpedoes, the sadness of the lives lost, and the contrasting beauty of the creatures that had made the wrecks their home. Like many divers, I have a fascination with WWII casualties and the story all wrecks have to tell those with time enough to listen. Like the Japanese fleet in Truk, The Bell Island wrecks are master story-tellers.
One of the best pieces of luck I had on my first visit to Newfoundland and Bell Island was meeting Rick Stanley. Rick is a proud local who owns and operates Ocean Quest Resort, which was home-base for our group during our visits. Rick is a strong advocate for all things Tourism for Newfoundland, and almost single-handedly has promoted responsible diving on the wrecks, as well as campaigning to have them designated as a war grave and a protected site. He and his staff, made our group welcome and introduced us to local hospitality… including the infamous Screeching In ceremony.
Screeching In is when visitors (people from away, is how the locals refer to tourists) are made honorary Newfoundlanders. Space prohibits a blow-by-blow account of a true Screech In ceremony but proceedings include strong rum, eating local delicacies such as cod-tongue, hard-tack (ship’s biscuit) and dried capelin (a small smelt), singing, dancing, and “kissing the cod” which really does involve getting close and personal with a large dead Atlantic Cod (gadus morhua). Having survived being “Screeched In” during several trips, I can honestly say, it is one of the most bizarre and funniest things I’ve done because of diving.
Partway through my third trip to dive the Bell Island Wrecks, Rick Stanley asked me if I would be interested in putting together a group of divers “Capable of exploring the Bell Island Mine.” Of course I said yes.
The mines were abandoned when it was no longer economically viable to operate them; but the closure was oddly abrupt.
The mines on Bell Island opened for commercial mining in late 19th century and were once the world’s largest submarine iron ore mine with passages occupying an area under the seabed of Conception Bay roughly five kilometers by five kilometers or approximately nine square miles in size.
The mine that Rick was interested in having surveyed and accessed — and that was the project’s main aim — had been closed since Christmas 1949. The story goes that the workers downed tools for the holiday and were never allowed back into the workings.
Rick and the Bell Island Historical Society were curious to have a team of divers explore the mine system — or as much of it as practical in the 12 days available — and look for evidence of cave-in, collapse, artifacts and other things that might interest a different type of visitor than the ones currently coming to the mine museum sitting at the old entrance to Mine Shaft Two.
The questions they wanted answers to where simple: can it be dived? Is it interesting enough to attract divers? Are conditions supportable for regular visitors? There were some side issues that needed to be addressed, but the hope was to open up a unique form of adventure tourism for the island and its economy. With a background in Tourism Marketing, I was certainly curious enough to take Rick up on his offer and set about building a team that would be able to pull things off. After a simple exploratory dive in July of 2006, we set a target date for the following January/February, and started planning.
Our goal was to investigate as much of the inundated mine as practical within the short time available. We knew the water would be cold, and because of the surface support needed, we also knew that our efforts would have to be focused on a time when normal tourist activity would not interfere; and that meant winter which also would be cold.
I was lucky to find the perfect group of men and women who were not daunted by the challenges that the season, the logistics, and the challenging dive site would present to us.
Newfoundland in the heart of winter is an interesting study. Stuck as it is with both feet in the Northern Atlantic, and its face weather-beaten by winds coming off the glaciers of Greenland or Labrador, it is not for the faint-hearted. Several of the team where Brits whose experience with a real Canadian winter had been limited to movies and books, got to experience a true winter storm on arrival and several of us had plane delays getting into St John’s airport. My plane was almost on the runway but the pilot aborted and we headed back to Halifax International with our tail between our legs and our hearts in our mouths.
But eventually, all 16 of us were together in the lounge at Ocean Quest Resort, sorting gear, knotting line, and pumping gas.
During the following two weeks, the team surveyed the mine looking for any evidence of cave-in or collapse in the mine shaft and laid permanent guidelines from the surface along the main shaft to a depth of approximately 30 metres. The seam of iron ore slopped at an angle of approximately ten degrees and continued many thousands of metres under the overlay of ocean floor below Conception Bay. In addition to the main line, four ‘jump lines’ were laid in side passages. The initial plan was to extend these side passages (roughly horizontal) approximately 300 metres east and west of the main shaft. Overall a total of 2km of line was laid in the mine.
The search for artifacts left behind when the mine was abandoned turned up mine equipment, personal effects such as lunch boxes, and we discovered graffiti, drawn by the miners using the soot from their carbide lamps. The system was mapped sufficiently to enable the conclusion that the mine would make a challenging diving destination for cave divers to explore.
Every overhead environment presents divers with a number of challenges well beyond the scope of recreational diving. As well as the obvious threats to the team’s well-being — gas management, navigation, light, depth and the cold — the health of one of our team played a role. On Sunday, February 4, Joe Steffen, well-known in the diving communities in both the Great Lakes and North Florida, suffered a massive embolism and died. Joe perished in a few metres of water just a couple of minutes from the surface operations. Ironically “Iron Man” had an undiagnosed problem with his lungs which did not show up during a medical he’d had before joining the team from his home in Ohio, and attempts to revive him at the dive site and the medical facility adjacent to the mine were unsuccessful.
We lost a great buddy, and Joe — a career police office — left behind a wife and young son, and many, many friends.
In consultations with the various sponsors — which included TDI, Fourth Element, Whites, the NACD, and Ocean Quest — as well as local authorities, the exploration of the Bell Island Mine continued and its success was dedicated to Joe’s memory.
The following year, Joe’s widow, Jennifer, visited Bell Island for a memorial service which included two of the team (Mike Fowler and Steve Lewis) placing a memorial plaque and an urn containing Joe’s ashes in the main shaft of Bell Island Mine No. 2.
Tourists continue to visit the Mine and divers enjoy the four wrecks that sit above its vast network of passages, but underwater operations at the mine await further work.
The Team: Rick Stanley, Debbie Stanley, David Sawatsky, Phil Short, Ralph Hoskins, Vlada Dekina, Dave Clemmens, David Powell, Mark McGowan, Stephen Phillips, Aaron Bruce, Mike Fowler, Joe Steffen, Steve Moore, Susan Copp, Steve Lewis
https://www.tdisdi.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/int_1-300x199-1.png199300dpace/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/logo-1.pngdpace2013-12-06 16:03:522021-10-04 16:51:14The diving appeal of the Bell Island Wrecks and Iron Ore Mine
What makes the Galapagos Islands so magical? Also known as the “Enchanted Islands” by pirates and sailors because of the odd direction of the currents, the Galápagos hot spot that generates these volcanic islands happens to be located at the meeting point of several influential currents that feed it the rich nutrients and provide diversity. These currents, which include the cold Humboldt Current traveling north from South America and the Panama Current traveling south from Central America, make the islands cooler than you would think and provide the perfect environment for the unique mix of wildlife that inhabits the islands. The unique flora and fauna of the Galápagos makes this place a unique destination for the adventure seekers, bird watchers, animal lovers, scientists and scuba divers.
Land based operations as well as numerous live-a-boards offer divers services from a day trip to 7 day cruises up to Wolf and Darwin, two very small islands in the far north that are havens for hammerheads, Galápagos sharks, dolphins, whale sharks, turtles, jacks, eels, rays of all sorts, and so many fish.
This richness in wildlife unfortunately brings in the predators looking to plunder and make a profit with no regard for the environment. Fishing locally has never been much of an issue in Galápagos. Tour boats, hotels, restaurants and homes buy fresh fish from the local fishermen. The issue begins to take an ugly turn when there is an external market that influences the local population to pillage the resources for outside cultures. Long lining fishing for shark fins is the perfect example.
Long line fishing is a commercial fishing technique which uses a long line, called the main line, with baited hooks attached at intervals by means of branch lines called snoods. A snood is a short length of line, attached to the main line using a clip, with the hook at the other end. Lines can be set by means of an anchor, or left to drift. Hundreds or even thousands of baited hooks can hang from a single line.
Though long liners commonly target swordfish, tuna, halibut, and sablefish many other species get caught in the process. Sea birds, turtles, sea lions, rays and many other animals that feed off the sea are treated as “incidental catch”. Globally, an estimated 100,000 albatross are killed this way per year.
In the Galápagos, especially the regions where there is little tourist boat traffic and activity allowing for the fishing boats to sail unnoticed, long lines are dropped in the waters to catch the sharks for their fins. In the majority of the cases, because the market is looking for fins only, the fins of the shark are sliced off and the body of the shark is thrown back into the ocean… sometimes while they are still alive.
Globally, humans kill an estimate of 73 million sharks a year to satisfy the market destined to those that partake in the rather tasteless and nutrition-less dish of shark fin soup – a dish that does nothing other than show your status in society.
The good news… yes, there is some good news… many markets are making shark fin soup illegal or banning it from their menus. Last July, shark fin soup was banned in California and Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Delaware, Illinois, New York and Maryland. Additionally, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands have all passed similar bans on shark fin sale and possession.
Outside of the US, Asia-Pacific based airlines have announced plans to ban shark’s fin cargo from their flights. Fiji’s national carrier and South Korea’s Asiana and Korean Air are the latest to promise to halt shipments of shark fin and shark-related products from unsustainable and unverified sources. Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong based airline and the world’s largest carrier of air cargo started the ban in 2012.
So why is there such a strong battle to fight a market that pays so well? It often is said best in Galápagos; “A live shark pays better than a dead one.” What does this mean? The Galápagos Islands and its rich and unique marine life, bring in thousands of divers that provide economic resources for hotels, restaurants, shops and tour operator’s income that would allow them to be sustained by tourism rather than fishing – legal or illegal.
The same shark can be appreciated over and over again while at the same time, it contributes to reproduction as well as maintaining the food chain intake.
Scott Henderson, regional director of Conservation International Eastern Pacific laid it out in three points;
Ocean health. For coastal countries like Ecuador and states such as California that have huge economies and food security dependent on fishing, adopting measures that reduce shark capture is a sound investment in overall ocean health, for which sharks play an important role as regulators of ecosystem function.
Anti-cruelty. For inland states such as Illinois, an ethical and sustainability element comes into play. Do states or nations really want to be part of a global trade chain that often depends on ruthlessly hacking off a live animal’s fins and throwing it back into the water to drown?
Income. Finally, it is simple economics, as in the case of Galápagos, Bahamas, Palau, Hawaii and elsewhere. Plain and simple, a live shark is worth far more than a dead shark.
Overfishing is still a problem and though awareness has caused many people to take action and get involved, the fight is far from over. Organizations have come in to assist the National Park of Galápagos. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, led by Whale War’s Paul Watson has donated a vessel to help the national park patrol the marine reserve.
Cooperation with the Ecuadorian Navy as well as local police authorities have cracked down on vessels conducting illegal fishing within the marine reserve as well… though unfortunately, when it comes to court, several cases are mysteriously thrown out and the culprits set free disregarding and undermining the authority of the different organizations that went through the efforts and motions to enforce the law. Although it sounds odd, environmental protection needs good lawyers that follow cases and help to enforce laws.
What can you do?
Avoid the consumption of shark’s meat, fins, soups, etc. You can also try to avoid companies and/or restaurants that support this. Lastly, you can tell your local politicians where you stand on the matter.
It is important to let governments know your opinion about shark fishing and the fact that it stopped being sustainable a long time ago. Both local (USA) shark fisheries and international ones are deleting a top apex predator from the food chain. Let any government, supermarket, store, or airline know that you will not use their products if they have any relation or association to the shark fishing business.
https://www.tdisdi.dev/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gal_1.png715954dpace/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/logo-1.pngdpace2013-12-06 14:57:052021-10-04 16:50:41The Galápagos Islands; Beauty and the Beast
There are not many diveable aircraft carriers in the world so diving any aircraft carrier is a special experience but diving HMS Hermes, the first purpose built aircraft carrier, is a unique experience. There had previously been a number of merchant ships that had been converted for use as an aircraft carrier but HMS Hermes was the first to be commissioned specifically as an aircraft carrier. The Royal Navy, despite a very traditional approach in many areas, was at the leading edge by ordering the first purpose built aircraft carrier in July 1917. She was laid down in January 1918 and launched in September 1919 and so was too late to be of any use in the First World War. She was finally commissioned in July 1923 and so didn’t see active service until the Second World War where she was based for much of her time in Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka.
In March 1942 the Japanese Navy was ordered to carry out an aggressive raid on Sri Lanka and any British shipping in the area. Vice Admiral Nagumo, who was also responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, had a large fleet of aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers. On 9th April the Japanese launched their attack with more than 80 Japanese Zero fighter bombers attacking HMS Hermes. Due to a lack of fighter cover Hermes had to defend herself but despite opening fire with every gun it was clear that she was almost helpless against such an onslaught. Numerous bombs struck the ship and she sunk in less than an hour with the loss of the Captain, 19 officers and 288 ratings on board.
Despite being an incredibly important historical wreck HMS Hermes has lain almost unknown until recently. This was because between 1983 and 2009 Sri Lanka was ravaged by a vicious civil war which had meant that the Hermes was inaccessible to divers due to the political situation. Since the end of the civil war it has finally come possible to dive her.
The aim of this project was to determine the state and layout of the wreck. A secondary objective was to search for some of the other wrecks that were sunk at the same time as HMS Hermes. These were two support vessels, HMAS Vampire and HMS Hollyhock as well as the RFA tankers SS British Sergeant and SS Athelstane.
Despite the end of the civil war it was still a major effort to get to the wreck. Sri Lanka is a ten hour flight which is followed by a seven hour bus journey to get from the capital Colombo to Trincomalee where the boat departs. First impressions of the island are that despite being obviously very poor it is very clean and colourful with lots of small businesses. There are lots of fruit stands, hardware shops, and mechanics for the scooters and motor bikes that seem to be everywhere. I am struck by how lush and green it is. There are cows wandering the street, Buddhist shrines along the roadside, in fact all the developing world stereotypes. Later we even see three elephants wandering the road.
Diving HMS Hermes for the first time was an unforgettable experience. As we drop down the line we can see that the visibility is excellent, it drops a little after 30m but is still impressive. The shot is right on the wreck, near the flight control tower and almost on top of one of the guns. After we tie in the shot it’s time to explore the wreck. She lies on her port side in 52m/170 feet and I head along the deck towards the stern. The shot is at the forward end of the flight control tower so I can see the main part of the hull on my left and the tower on my right. As I get to the end of the tower I come across the second of the main guns. From this point onwards I am swimming along the side of the hull where the flight deck should be exposed but in this area the wreck is almost inverted so it is difficult to see the scale of the flight deck. I pass another main gun before getting to the stern. The starboard prop is standing clear and makes a very impressive sight. The portside prop is partly buried in the sand and is only partly visible. I make my way slowly back along the wreck until I get back to the shot and have a look around this area before reaching my planned bottom time of 45mins. We all have similar plans and so the whole team ascends together with smiling faces all round.
Over the next few days we further explore the wreck and document its current state. Despite obvious damage and the collapse of the flight deck there are areas that are undamaged and look almost as they would have when the wreck sank. The control tower is almost intact and gauges, complete with glass, are still present as well as a range of other fittings. Emergency lights are still in place with the light bulbs still preserved.
At the bow the anchor chains as well as the anchor are clearly visible. The decking has come away from the bow and it’s possible to see right into the fo’c’sle of the ship. A row of toilets are clearly visible together with an intact lamp fitting in the ceiling. Beyond this it is possible to see down through several decks and light penetrating through the hull shows that there is a hole in the hull a couple of decks down. Looking in through these holes gives a clear indication of the layout of the forward part of the ship. I can’t help but think of the men who served, and in many cases died, on this wreck. The wreck serves as a museum to this unique piece of history as well as a monument to the men who perished on her. I hope that anyone who dives this wreck takes the opportunity to remember these men and treats the wreck with the respect it deserves.
The wreck is home to a large variety of marine life. Large tuna, grouper and jacks flock around the wreck as well as a huge number of other fish. Some of these are of impressive size with one grouper being considerably larger than me. Some of the tuna are also a very impressive sight. As well as the fish, a huge variety of coral and other marine life means that there is significantly more life on this wreck than on the vast majority of reefs.
During the expedition and subsequent dives I have kept the HMS Hermes Association informed of all our plans. I wanted to make sure that we only ever acted in accordance with the wishes of the survivors and the families of those who perished. As I type this there is now only one survivor. Leading Seaman Stan Curtis was fascinated to see the photographs and video we brought back and was very grateful that we had paid tribute to his comrades who did not survive the attack. I also received a very humbling letter from the daughter of one of the survivors. “ I was moved to tears because my lovely Dad P.O. Henry Walker was a wonderful swimmer and loved the sea, living as we did on the coast of the Irish Sea, I long remember times spent on the beach being taught to run into the icy cold waves and dip down quickly then shown how to swim and float. He would then leave my brother and I to swim out to the Whitehaven Harbours, only to be pointed out by my Mam of a small head appearing in the distance which was that of my dad. The point I’m making is that I always thought of how cruel the sea was to take him from us, but on reading of the world class wreck – the fish and beauty of the coral, and the statement of the writer to it having More Life On This Wreck than on the majority of reefs, fills my heart with JOY and found myself thinking. What a lovely and suitable resting Place for my Father… Just what he would have wished himself. Hopefully others having lost loved ones on the Hermes 9 will be consoled by this.”
I think that expeditions like this can help to keep the memory of events such as this alive. I have also come to realise that, when carried out sensitively, they can provide comfort for those left behind.
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