THE UNIQUE SHIPWRECKS OF SUBIC BAY

Subic Bay is not the most attractive dive destination we have ever visited. It doesn’t have white sandy beaches, blue water or swaying palms, instead it has greenish water, grey sand beaches, basic accommodation and some rather seedy bars. However, Subic Bay does have one major attraction, some of the most interesting and unique shipwrecks in Asia .
    Subic Bay is located in the Philippines , only 100km west of the capital Manila . The bay has been an important military area since the Spanish established a Naval Base here in 1885. They didn’t keep the base for long, as in 1898 the Americans took control of Subic Bay, and all of the Philippines , after victory in the Spanish-American War.
    During World War II the Americans lost control of the Philippines when they were caught unprepared for the invading Japanese. The Japanese bombed Subic Bay in December 1941, on the same day they attacked Pearl Harbour , and landed troops two days later. After fierce fighting, General Douglas MacArthur fled to Australia in March 1942, famously vowing to return, with the American troops surrendering to the Japanese in May 1942. General MacArthur finally returned in October 1944, but didn’t defeat the Japanese in the Philippines until February 1945. Many ships were lost in Subic Bay during the war, and many more were dumped after the war, having outlived their purpose.
    After the Philippines were granted independence in 1946 the Americans kept Subic Bay. The Americans then built Subic Bay up to be their largest Naval Base outside of the USA , home to the massive seventh fleet. Most of this build up was due to the nearby conflicts in Korea and Vietnam . The Philippine people were never happy with this large American military presence in their country, and all the social problems associated with it like prostitution and drugs, and finally kicked them out of Subic Bay in 1992.
    The entire time the Americans controlled Subic Bay diving was banned. However, the day the Americans left divers were in the water exploring the shipwrecks of Subic Bay . One of those divers was Johan De Sadeleir, who owns and operates Johan’s Dive Centre. Johan’s Dive Centre is located on the waterfront of Subic Bay, at Beloy Beach , not far from the town of Olongapo . They offer daily boat dives to the shipwrecks in Subic Bay , have nitrox fills, dive courses and the complex includes a restaurant, bar and basic accommodation. While there are over thirty wrecks that can be dived in and around Subic Bay , including a submarine and even a phantom jet in water deeper than 45m, the most popular dozen or so wrecks are in depths between 20m and 35m.
USS NEW YORK
The most famous shipwreck in Subic Bay is the 8150 ton armoured cruiser the USS New York. This 116m long battleship was launched in December 1891, and is probably the oldest steel warship that divers can explore anywhere in the world. The USS New York carried a crew of forty officers and five hundred and sixteen enlisted men. The ship had a very impressive arsenal of weapons, including four 8 inch guns, twelve 4 inch guns and also two Whitehead torpedo tubes. She first saw action in the Spanish-American War, and was flagship for the Caribbean campaign. Before the First World War she was renamed the USS Saratoga in 1911, and was active in the Pacific and Atlantic . In 1917 she was renamed again, the USS Rochester, and after the war served in the Asiatic Fleet until decommissioned in Subic Bay in April 1933.
    When the Japanese invaded the Philippines the USS New York was almost a derelict in Subic Bay , but it was decided to scuttle her anyway to avoid the ship falling into the hands of the Japanese. In December 1941 the old warhorse USS New York was sent to the bottom of Subic Bay .
    The USS New York now rests on her port side in 28m of water and is a sensational dive. Descending on the shipwreck we were happy to find the visibility around 10m. Landing on the side of this old warship we investigated several of the side gun emplacements, now empty, but they once held the 4 inch guns. After peering into a few portholes we followed our guide Henry towards the propeller.
    It is very unusual to see the prop still on a war wreck, as most were salvaged after the war. We had a good look at the massive blades before swimming around the stern. Suddenly the visibility closed in to 2m, not the best for photography as we were just about to view the stern 8 inch guns. Even with the poor visibility these guns are just awesome, twin barrels almost 5m long projecting out of a streamline gun turret. This is the kind of thing wreck divers dream of.
    After inspecting these massive guns for several minutes we followed Henry along the deck. We looked into the bridge, inspected vents, doorways, hatches, the funnels, ducked under the mast, which still has a crows nest attached and stopped to admire the bow guns. At the bow the visibility returned to 10m, as we slowly swam along the side of this wonderful warship.
    The hull of the USS New York is now covered in corals and home to reef fish and schools of snapper. Most of the fish were concentrated around the gaping hole of twisted metal at midship, caused by the explosion that sent this ship to the bottom.
    This is one impressive warship, even in the poor visibility. Henry informed us that the visibility on the USS New York changes daily, the reason it does get such bad visibility at times is because of her position in a back bay and also from the covering of ash, a legacy of the 1991 eruption of nearby Mount Pinatubo. Visibility on most of the wrecks in Subic Bay varies from 2m to 20m, with 12m about average.
LANDING SHIP TANK
Scattered throughout Subic Bay are a number of interesting craft that were scuttled, many used for target practise, after the Second World War. One of the most interesting ships is the Landing Ship Tank (LST), a 80m long ship used to transport and land tanks on beaches. The history of this LST is unknown, but it was thought to have been scuttled in 1948. LSTs were used by US forces in many areas during World War II and had a crew of seven officers and two hundred and four enlisted men. They had a top speed of only 10.8 knots, but could defend themselves with six 20mm guns, one 40mm gun and one 3 inch gun.
    The LST sits upright on the bottom in 34m and has a very flat deck, the tanks once held inside the ship in the 15m wide holds. As we swam around the LST, following our guide Henry, we inspected vents, hatches, the bow gun emplacements (minus the guns), derricks and winches. The hull of the LST is encrusted with sponges, soft corals and sea whips, and populated with plenty of fish life; including butterflyfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, schools of snapper and a couple of batfish.
    At the bow we descended to look at the landing doors. Covered in sea whips the outer doors were wide open, while the ramp is closed. You can drop into the holds, but it is very silty with not much to see. The wheelhouse of the LST is completely smashed, used as target practise as they sunk the ship. With bottom time quickly disappearing we had a quick look around the stern, seeing several lionfish, before returning to the surface.
EL CAPITAN
The El Capitan was an American cargo ship that was sunk in 1941. She doesn’t have any cargo on her, but the 90m long ship is still a great dive. The ship lies on its port side in 22m, allowing plenty of bottom time to completely explore every nook and cranny. We investigated the bridge, cargo holds, funnel and masts and had a wonderful time. Numerous fish shelter on the wreck; including batfish, triggerfish, parrotfish, angelfish, snapper, sweetlips and anemonefish. On the sand were also several blue spotted stingrays and on the bow was a cute cuttlefish.
LANDING CRAFT UTILITY
Another shipwreck that is unique to Subic Bay is the Landing Craft Utility (LCU). LCUs were 29m long troop carriers used by the USA during World War II to land troops on beaches in Europe and in many locations throughout the Pacific. This one was scuttled after the war and is one of several found in the bay. The ship sits in 24m on a rocky slope. With 12m visibility we had a great time looking into the engine room, investigating winches, hatches, the landing ramp, the troop hold, vents and several small rooms. The fish life on the wreck was also impressive, schools of snapper and sweetlip, plus lionfish, batfish and butterflyfish.
JAPANESE PATROL BOAT
Not much is known about this Japanese Patrol Boat that sits in 24m. The 35m long ship was sunk by US aircraft during the war and is a lovely dive. We had time to do several circuits of the wreck, entering the wheelhouse and looking into other dark and silty rooms. As with all the wrecks in Subic Bay there was a good coverage of corals and plenty of reef fish and even one large trevally.
THE BARGES
One of our favourite dives in Subic Bay was The Barges. This site consists of dozens of pontoons and barges in 5m to 35m that were sunk after the war. The Barges are fun to explore, some are just huge steel blocks, but a few can be entered and others overlap forming caves. However, the highlight was all the marine life that can be seen. Corals cover many of the barges, and we found schools of snapper, shrimps, crabs, nudibranchs, lionfish, pipefish, parrotfish, rock cod, fusiliers, butterflyfish, angelfish and many other reef fish. Even the sand around the barges was full of life, with blue spotted stingrays darting about and also a colony of garden eels. This is also said to be a great night dive.
SAN QUINTIN
The oldest shipwreck in Subic Bay is the San Quintin, an 80m Spanish steam powered gunboat that was scuttled in 1898 as part of a blockade during the Spanish-American War. The ship is now broken up in 16m of water and nearly always has good visibility, we enjoyed 15m. There was a surprising amount to see, lots of metal plates, the ships ribs, prop shaft, the partially intact bow and stern sections and two huge boilers. The San Quintin wreckage is decorated with lovely soft corals, sea whips, sponges and bushy black corals. Numerous fish reside on the wreck, but the highlight was a pair of sea moths. They may have been mating as they put on a magical performance as they slowly danced around each other.
    The main wrecks that Johan’s Dive Centre explore are reached within five to fifteen minutes by boat, so they run either single or double dives depending on demand. However, they have thirty wrecks they can dive within an hour radius of the dive centre and they are still locating new wrecks in this large bay every year.

Information and bookings – Johan's Dive Centre

Article appeared in Sportdiving No.136 Oct/Nov 2009