Thailand Diving
HTMS chang
Wreck diving is no longer a far-fetched dream for Koh Chang’s diving scene and visiting divers. Last Thursday, the 22nd of November, the HTMS Chang 712, formerly US Navy Landing Ship LST-898 Lincoln County , has been successfully sunk a few kilometres west of Bang Bao.
The HTMS Chang, to be sunk as an artificial reef for scuba diving on Aug. 16, 2012 to commemorate Her Majesty, The Queen’s birthday.Being an avid wreck diver myself, I was both ecstatic and disappointed when I heard that Koh Chang will soon have a new wreck of her own. Ecstatic, because Koh Chang is only about 5 hours traveling from Pattaya but a little disappointed because she would not be sunk in the Pattaya area, as had been eluded to during a meeting withthe major of Pattaya, Khun Itthipol Kunplome, Khun Jatuporn Buruspat, Director of the Dept. of Marine and Coastal Resources and his Adviser, Dr. Torn Thamrongnawasawat, and representing the Thai Royal Navy, Captain Chesta Jaipiem, Director of Civil Affair Division, Hans Ulrich, the then Director of PADI Southeast Asia, and representatives of various Dive Operators in Pattaya in November, 2009. The Pattaya Mail suggestion that the reason that Pattaya did not get this wreck and the other two recently sunk in Chumphon and near Koh Tao was from a lack of follow up from the esteemed major and TAT, is not entirely correct as the various representatives of the local dive operators, who seemingly could not be bothered to work together promoting the project, carry some of the blame.
As I learned from various sources that the HTMS Chang was quite a bit larger than our wrecks around Pattaya I had to go down to look at it myself before she was sunk. I have to tell you, I was absolutely astounded by the shear magnitude of her. By volume she is over 4 times what our two wrecks are. There will be something for every one. With three main decks and 7 decks from the bridge to the bottom deck there will be penetrations ranging from mild to deadly. For the cautious diver it should not present a problem but invariably there will be some who will go too far. In the dark it will be quite easy to loose your direction unless proper care is taken! As she is not yet fully prepared it is impossible to know yet just how safe they will make it before sinking her, but at the level of work we observed that day and the amount left to do before the 16th it is probable that she will become a very interesting but potentially dangerous wreck.
Many of you have visited Thailand (if you haven't, then you really should) and some of you will have come to a beautiful island called Koh Chang. It’s Thailand's second largest island, located in the Gulf of Thailand (about 5 hours drive from Bangkok) and it is covered head to toe in thick lush green rain forest (Koh Chang National Park). With only coastal development, and accommodation and nightlife to suit every traveller - scattered mainly along the west coast - this place is a haven for globe trotters and luxury travellers alike.
I have enjoyed diving Koh Chang for the last eight years working as a dive instructor and underwater photographer. It’s a perfect place to learn diving; having a National Marine Park that has an archipelago of 42 coral fringed islands with an abundance of marine life, just 30 minutes by speed by boat from Koh Chang. An already fantastic dive destination has just been officially put on the map with the sinking of Koh Chang’s new ship wreck, HTMS CHANG, formally the USS Lincoln County.
LTS-898 was a tank landing ship built by Dravo Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and launched on 25 November 1944. With a crew of nine officers and 90-100 enlisted men, she was commissioned a month later for the United States Navy during World War II. During the war she aided with the war effort and shuttled supplies and troops to and from the Philippines to Okinawa, Japan. She also saw lots of action in the Korean War; on the 10 September 1950, loaded with troops and vehicles at Kobe Japan, she set sail to participate in the famous Inchon invasion. The success of the operation prompted General Douglas MacArthur to remark that, "The Navy and Marines have never shone more brightly than this morning". LST-898 continued operations in support of the Korean War, including providing emergency medical care for wounded marines and support for assault forces by shelling enemy positions ashore.
After the Korean War, LST-898 carried out operations in Alaska and then the Western Pacific with amphibious exercises off the west coast of the United States.
On 15 July 1955, LST-898 was officially named USS Lincoln County and spent the next 5 years on three tours with the 7th Fleet including one trip to the Arctic to supply DEW line installations (a system of radar stations) and took part in more exercises off the west coast of the USA.
After serving in two wars with the US Navy and receiving seven battle star awards, USS Lincoln County was decommissioned on 24 March 1961. On 31 August 1962 she was handed over to Thailand under the terms of the Military Assistance Programme. She was renamed 712 HTMS CHANG and served in the Royal Thai Navy for almost 50 years, providing transport for troops and vehicles.
After lots of debate what to do with her and where to do it, the Thai Royal Navy and some dive happy local business owners decided to sink HTMS CHANG as an artificial reef and dive site 4 miles of the coast of Koh Chang.
Two years ago Thailand's coral reefs and reefs around the world suffered from coral bleaching, this was due to warming sea temperatures. The coral recovers and grows back but this takes time - normally 1-2 years. The Thai Government closed down a few dive sites in the worst affected areas and really started to think about ways they can help the coral recover. This led to more and more projects conducted locally around Thailand setting about the creation of artificial reefs: everything from blocks of concrete to statues of elephants have been sunk under the water to create more marine diversity, coral growth and tourist attractions. These provide additional locations to take snorkelers and divers to ease the pressure of recovery on the natural reefs. The potential for this huge ship to become an underwater oasis for turtles, rays, sharks, nudibranch's and thousands of pelagic schooling fish is quite extraordinary and is sure to make one of the best dive sites in Thailand!
HTMS CHANG got towed to Koh Chang and was sunk on the 22nd November 2012. It is now Thailand's longest wreck with her bottom sitting on the sand at 30m and the crow’s nest just below the surface; it is accessible to all levels of divers, with 3 main decks and 7 sub decks decks from Bridge to bottom. This ship will keep keen wreck divers busy for countless dives and with lots to explore inside including troop cabins, briefing rooms, the captain’s cabin, countless corridors, the engine room, the main holding area and so much more. It’s sure to tantalise the taste buds of serious tech divers as well!
The wreck gets dived most mornings by the local dive schools but is not crowded with divers and I have yet to see a snorkelling boat there . Try a night dive on the wreck and you will have the whole ship to yourselves. HTMS CHANG has three nice dive sites just minutes away and with the back-drop of Koh Chang in the distance it makes a great day trip out.
