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Idintification of the SS Worcestershire (1917) off Colombo
The Passikuda Wreck graveyard includes the Gladys Moller SS (1942)
15/12/2012: To simply sum up a great year of diving in Sri Lanka. Some ships we knew before got names as a result of our research and new wrecks opened up for diving as a result of easing security around the city of Colombo.
February - A new ship is added to the wrecks of Colombo. What we believe is to be the Delhi Coal is located near the City.
March - A ship we were diving north of Batticaloa (Vakarai) is identified as the Lady McCullum SS (1926)
April - A car carrier that sank in the 80's is now open for recreational diving. We later identify this as the "Chief Dragon"
May - As a result of many Technical Dives to the 57m ship known as B2633 and research we declare it as the long lost SS Worcetershire that was sunk by the German mine layer Wolf in 1917.
August - After two years of floating in limbo off Colombo the Thermopylae Sierra (IMO 8313075) sinks. Sadly the depth is not enough to make it a wreck dive given that a significant portion is sticking out of the water and there is talk of salvage early 2013. We also explore new areas in Trincomalee including the Diomede and Foul Point. In Passikudah we dive a veritable "Graveyard of ships" ; possibly four ship wrecks or more in a small area which includes the Gladys Moller.
September - After extensive research we declare the beloved Colombo Cargo Wreck - one of the most popular wreck dives in Sri Lanka as the French Pecheur Breton.
October - November : We look for new reefs off Colombo and discover Serendib North Ridges and Snapper Alley Adams Peak and Sea Fan garden
If the world does not end on the 22nd -we wish you happy holidays and great diving in 2013! If it can only be good as 2012 it will be a good year!
08/12/12: The Sri Lanka Sub Aqua Club Christmas Party rocks the beach!
The four brave survivors of a 24 hour drifting ordeal!
A diver over the front loader that has now toppled on its side
The ever magnificient bow and stern remains the same
27/08/2012 (Passikudah): Imagine three of four or possibly more ship wrecks within a space of 1 square Kilometer.
Well it needs no imagination. You can see for yourself at the Pasikudah Graveyard of Ships!
Here the high rocks of the shallow ocean seem to have taken its toll on many a unsuspecting ship from an bygone era. At all sites, it seems to be the same story repeated all over again and again. Fragments of fractured hull/bridge, boilers of triple expansion steam engines, crank shafts, propellars, rudders and massive anchors strewn all over the rocky ocean bed, like the dried up skeletal remains at a feeding site of a large carnivore from the Jurassic era.
One of these ships, we suspect is the Gladys Moller SS. The others we do not know. Perhaps we will never know. It doesn't matter, for here in the graveyard of shipwrecks at Passikudah, a Wreck Diver achieves bliss.
01/09/2012: Based on last known location, length of ship, matching features, we have now ascertained that the Colombo Cargo Wreck is the Pecheur Breton (Breton Fisherman) which sailed under the Honduran flag. It sank off Colombo on 1st of July 1994 after springing a leak enroute to the Seychelles with a cargo of scrap. Fans of the "colombo cargo wreck" (as it was known for a long time) are now delighted that their favorite ship wreck has a name!
Now! - Thermopylae Sierra
01/09/2012: It is now confirmed that the T Sierra is resting at the bottom of the sea. But sadly about 6 meters of bridge and crane are jutting out of the ocean. Reports say that the ship will be salvaged out of the water early January next year as it poses a threat to maritime shipping. Some oil was reported flowing into international waters but no repots of damage or harm to marine life in and around the coast of Sri Lanka has been reported. This is to be expected given the amount of oil in the ship was small.
Easy diving at the scattered coral reef at Foul Point East
Foul Point East - Bommies, Tubestrea Coral and reef fish
23/08/2012 (Colombo): Embroiled in a long legal battle, the merchant vessel Thermopylae Sierra (IMO 8313075) literally floated in limbo for three long years in various locations around Sri Lanka. Purportedly the ship was in bad shape and poorly maintained leading to its long awaited demise.
And that happened today. These are the last pictures (captured at 0800 HRS) of the ship above the water just before it sank and water rose over the deck line. At 1700 HRS today significant parts of the ships cranes and bridge was still above the water line. It is not yet clear if it had reached rock bottom or still floating while sinking. Around 1730 large pieces of metal debris were seen off shore Bambalapitiya.
The ship carried a vast amounts of furnace oil. Significant portion of it has been supposedly removed yet some of it still remain. The DiveSriLanka team noticed leaking oil around the ship yet it cannot be confirmed that this is the furnace oil cargo or oil fueling the ship or running the engine. The amount was oil was insignificant at the time of reporting and is thought to be consistent with oil seepage amounts of a typical ship being wrecked. However what happens in the next few days is yet to be seen.
Environmentalists and nature lovers are hoping and praying that this disaster will not cause a significant oil spill and endanger marine life and the coral reefs nearby. Some good may hopefully come out of this, IF the ship is left as is, it may turn out to be excellent coral reefs such as other ship wrecks off colombo and great value to dive tourism and fisheries. Several fishermen also stated that there was significant fish life under the ship before it sank.
Let us hope for the best and we will keep you posted.
This is the story of Eric Pointon, who served on board the British Sergeant, as told by his son David Pointon to the BBC. It clearly outlines an eye witness account of the sinking and corroborates the current state of the wreck which lies in two pieces about 5-8 meters apart.
" Six Japanese bombers attacked the 'British Sergeant', the first bomb of which tore open the side of the ship causing it to list 35 degrees. The bomb from the second plane hit the deck on the starboard side and the foremast; bombs from the third and fourth planes penetrated the deck, breaking the back of the ship. Although the attack lasted only 90 seconds, throughout it the ship's guns continued to fire, and succeeded in bringing down 2 of the Japanese planes. "
Read more here at the BBC site from which the above paragraph was reproduced.
The British Sergeant and the->
H.M.S Hermes are two famous world war II wrecks in the east
Archived image of the SS Worcestershire
The stern of the ship
The bow of the massive Colombo Car Wreck
Prolific fish life and parts of cars still to be seen today
18/03/2012: What we had hitherto called Allison & McLeelan based on some inscriptions on a ship part is now known to be the Lady McCullum SS!
Based on historical records, last known location, size of the ship we have now ascertained this to be the Lady McCullum SS which ran aground in 1926 en route to Trincomalee from Kalkudah. This is a British transport (passenger/cargo ship) with steam propulsion built in 1908 and belonged to the Ceylon Steamship Co at the time of the sinking.
New information on the last known location now removes any doubts that the large ship wreck off vakarai is the British Sergeant!
The railings near the bow
18/03/2012: Last year we mounted several expeditions to the formerly war torn Vakarai region to investigate two ships. One such very large ship was theorized to be the British Sergeant, a British Steam Tanker built by Palmers ship building and Iron Company Ltd, New Castle, England. The ship sank along with the world famous HMS Hermes, the worlds first purpose built air craft carrier (which itself lies off shore Batticaloa). Based on new information of the last known location of British Sergeant to be just 500 Meters of the ship wreck we dive, the approximate width of the hull, some remaining features of the ship against archived pictures we now have no doubt that this is indeed the British Sergeant.
The British Sergeant is one of the best Wreck Dives in Sri Lanka. At a depth ranging from 22 Meters to 26 Meters the ship is lush with fish life requires at least 5-6 dives to explore properly. The large caverns inside the ship are a delight to be and is a haven for large schools of fish.
SS Worcestershire archived picture from www.wrecksite.eu
At the stern of the wreck (57M) - it does bear a resemblance to the SS W
02/03/2012: Based on our previous dives to the wreck we call B2633 and historical accounts and the size of the ship this wreck appears to be the SS Worcestershire which was sunk somewhere 10 miles south west of Colombo in 1917 by German mine layer Wolf. The ship was an armed merchant en route from Rangoon to London when it suffered this fatality. It is said that 2 crew members were lost in the incident.
Today we dive the ship again in the hope of photographing key features that may prove this to be the SS Worcestershire. We swim all the way from the Bow to the Stern! It is a huge distance and consumes almost all of our 20 minutes bottom time. at 57 Meters. We quickly photograph key features. However the ship is in a bad state of deterioration. The size of the ship certainly matches the Worcestershire and if indeed it has been lying for almost 95 years undersea, then this could explain why the most of the ship is completely gone. The stern side of the ship certainly bears a strong resemblance to the Worcestershire and the next expedition will aim to measure the hull width and draft of this huge ship.
Perhaps this giant wheel would one day prove a point
Could the giant wheel be a gun mount?
The bow of the Colombo Coal Ship
The stern
The deep and beautiful Battery Barge
A diver beholds the popular Cargo Wreck
Rex De Silva: Then...
... and now!
As we look to the future; for years of great diving yet to come (optimistically assuming that the Mayans erred in their math predicting an apocalyptic end in Dec 2012) we must also look back at the past and the chronicles and adventures of few great men who pioneered diving in Sri Lanka. Rex De Silva is one such a person.
In "Diving in Sri Lanka: A History", Rex De Silva hopes to preserve for posterity, a wealth of information about those heady days of diving! Here we find a fascinating narration of those days gone by; and discover the magical adventures of the pioneers such as Vicky Athukorale, Tony Buxton and the legendary diver Rodney Jonklass.
Diving in Sri Lanka: A History by Rex De Silva can be considered invaluable historical document about diving in Sri Lanka. By capturing those memories of the wonder years and also bringing together a collection of remarkable photographs; Rex De Silva has managed to create precious vault of information which otherwise would have been lost for ever!
Rex is currently working on; An Illustrated Guide to the Sharks of Sri Lanka, An Illustrated Guide to the Skates and Rays of Sri Lanka, An Illustrated History of Diving in Sri Lanka ( Some of the material is shared in Diving in Sri Lanka: A History)
Rex considers that his most important (marine and underwater) contribution has been his study of sharks in Sri Lankan waters. Twenty two of the Fifty odd species were discovered or first documented by Rex.
Inside the cathedral of light at the British Sergeant(?)
The great reefs of Vakarai
2011 was a great year for discovery! After searching for a ghost ship marked on admiralty charts (as often the location was incorrect!) we finally found the mysterious deep ship at 57 meters off the shores of Colombo. At about the same time, the Maldivian Cargo Ship which sank 5 Kilometers off Mount Lavinia in 2009, suddenly became accessible as the Navy lifted restrictions on diving this wreck. During the east coast season we conducted several expeditions to Vakarai and documented two new ship that had never been photographed before and also dived some great reefs in the same region.
The big ship in particular aroused our great interest. Intense research of its last known location, measurements of the width of hull, comparison of segment photographs of the wreck to the archival photos strongly lead us to believe that this is indeed the British Sergeant that was sunk by the Japanese on the 9th of April 1942 along with the H.M.S Hermes, the worlds first purpose built Air Craft Carrier and fleet of other ships.
.... 
Above: The new Medhufaru and the deep ship B2633
Read all about it in our 2011 Report!