KOTA KINABALU: Three popular shipwreck diving sites in Usukan Bay in Kota Belud are no longer what they were.
There are no more colourful corals and not many fish could be seen in the area where three World War 2 Imperial Japanese Navy ships were sunk by torpedoes from a United States Navy submarine on Oct 1, 1944.
What was the final resting place of over 100 Japanese soldiers and crew members is now a “ghostly” seabed with chunks of metal scattered as a reminder of its existence.
On Jan 31, a group of divers went to the ship graveyard to inspect the extent of damage as a result of salvage works carried out for research by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
A fourth shipwreck in the vicinity is called the “Gunboat”, but no one could confirm if it was destroyed as it is in a different spot.
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (Padi) course director Mark Hedger confirmed that two shipwrecks, known as “Usukan” and “Upside Down”, were “98 and 99 per cent gone”.
The third, called “Rice Bowl”, was discovered in a mass of metal piled up into a ball. It was beyond recognition, said Hedger.
“During our first dive, my depth finder couldn’t pick up anything for the Upside Down wreck. After descending, I saw a part of the ship — a metal sheet — standing upright,” said Hedger, adding that there were a few pieces of metal lying about.
The team saw part of the ship’s bow at the Usukan wreck site, with pieces of metal sheets on the seabed.
According to public Japanese records, the three ships were the Higane Maru, Hiyori Maru and Kokusei Maru.
They were on their way to Manila when they were sunk by torpedoes fired from the American submarine, USS Hammerhead, killing 83 crew members and 45 soldiers on board.
Over the years, these wrecks became artificial reefs teeming with marine life and a fishing ground for fishermen.
In urging all parties to return salvaged materials to Kampung Kuala Abai, Kota Belud diver Monica Chin said villagers had agreed to set up a memorial space as a sign of respect to those who died in the ships.
“It is a huge loss. Scuba dive operators have been helping the state to promote its underwater heritage to the world. We hope that the state government will look into preserving WW2 remains in our waters.”
Chin has lodged a report at the Kota Belud police headquarters, urging police to investigate.
Kuala Abai village chief Nasar Lasun shared her sentiments, saying the salvage works had affected the villagers, who depended on the shipwrecks for their income.
“We object to works carried out on any shipwreck without notifying the local community. We hope the authorities will come up with regulations to prevent a recurrence.”
Prior to Chin’s report, one had been lodged by Nasar’s brother, Deli, who claimed he was told by foreigners to pull up his fishing nets and leave the area near where the shipwrecks were located on Jan 11.
“The areas near the site have been our fishing grounds all these years. Imagine being told to leave by a foreigner.”
Madawi Mejiku, who was fishing with Deli, said they had earlier thought the ship was encroaching and reported the incident to the village head.
“We didn’t know they were salvaging for research because no one had informed us. We only found out a few days later. How could they do this in our fishing grounds?”