The Ambon Shipwreck

There is a degree of mystery about this wreck that adds nicely to the fact that you are diving on a significant wreck in a busy part of Ambon's harbour.

Universally referred to as the “shipwreck”, the wreck of what is commonly believed to be a Dutch cargo ship. However it's history is very vague; some people tell you that it was sunk by the Dutch during WWII to prevent it falling into Japanese hands.

Others tell a story about it being bombed & sunk by a single bomb dropped down its funnel by a (very good…) mercenary pilot during civil strife in the 1950’s.

Whatever its heritage actually is, it’s a very good dive site. It is located close to the state oil company Pertamina’s main jetty and marked by a large but rather rusty buoy, attached to the stern of the wreck, which lies in just 12m of water.

The wreck is 100m in length and lies facing down the slope, so the foredeck is at 32m and the bow in over 40m. Being located in the harbour means that visibility is not that great and varied between 5 & 15m on the dives that I did, but the wreck is still very much intact and all its features are clearly identifiable.

Soft & hard corals literally cover the wreck and every nook & cranny seems to have gained an occupant so macro photographers can easily stray towards decompression if they are not careful!

I was luck enough to find a superb Fimbriated Moray Eel being serviced by a multitude of cleaner shrimp and got so carried away that I incurred a 7 minute stop on the buoy line….

The limited visibility makes wide-angle photography a challenge on the wreck, but in the right conditions this really is a very photogenic site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ambon Image Gallery

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