Some impressions of a week trimix exploration diving in the Gulf of Thailand, on board of the M.V. Trident.

The highlight of this expedition was the discovery and exploration of the Arosan Maru wreck.

Visiting this wreck and reading the reports of the US Navy and the POWs (Prisoners of War) impresses us all with the cruelty of war. In particular the guidelines of the "Navy of the Great Japanese Empire" leave little room for interpretation. I quote: "The prisoners disobeying the following orders will be punished with immediate death: ... e) Those walking or moving without orders. ..."

I thank the owners and crew of M.V. Trident, and my travel companions Steven (Galicia Technical diving), Peter and Liesbeth (Submerge Productions ) and Alexander for making this an exceptional experience. Peter made some excellent footage that will be available soon on Submerge Production's website.

The Arosan Maru was a vessel of the Japanese commercial Navy, cruising the Gulf of Siam, till that day in April 1945 not far from the ending of the 2nd World War when it met his destiny.

Japanese records mention the hitting by lightning of the vessel on the 5th of April 1945 with minor damage, and a second hit on the 6th followed by a quick sinking near Panjang Island, at the coordinates 9.18 N - 102.50 E. Of the 30/85 crew, only 15 survivors ware counted. R.I.P.

The captain of the US Navy Hardhead (SS365) ordered on the evening of April 5th 1945 the torpedo attack on a convoy of two smaller Japanese freighters and a large tanker. After three hits sinking "one of the few remaining Japanese 10.000 ton tankers" a few miles east of Panjang Island (9 37N 102 48E). The two smaller freighters ware well armed with surface guns and the Hardhead avoided further surface combat and went back to port for a reloading of torpedoes.

We thus start our search for the wreck of this 6886 ton vessel with two sets of coordinates near the Cambodian border, 18 miles apart. We have coordinates from the Japanese Navy (claiming the ship sunk due to lightning) and one from the US Navy submarine that torpedoed a tanker on the same date in precisely the same area.

After some searching with the sonar, and with the help of local fishermen, the M.V. Trident locates the wreck soon.

Tankers like the Arosan where built in a record time near the end of WWII. The poor quality of the construction and the steel, combined with the impact of three torpedoes and 70 years under water make the wreck fragile and deteriorated. We could however determine enough features, like the characteristic V-shape of the stern, the masts, rice cooker and porcelain to be sure this was the Arosan.

Akela
Akela was a freighter build in the Netherlands in 1953, with a length of almost 80m. After 30 years of service, she was disposed by her last owner (Hardewi Shipping) in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand, in 75 meters of water (9.17N/101.58E). The wreck was rediscovered by the m/v Trident in May 2008.