“Lost and Found-Legacy of the USS Lagarto,” the Emmy Award-winning documentary about the mission, sinking and — 60 years later — discovery of the USS Lagarto, will debut in Thailand at a Dec. 12 event in Koh Tao hosted by the MV Trident, the famed wreck hunters who found the U.S. submarine sunk by the Japanese during World War II in the Gulf of Thailand. (more…)

Thailand’s premier wreck hunters, the MV Trident, have published their 2010 schedule and it looks like more deep diving fun. From the base in Koh Tao, tech trips will depart every couple of weeks and fall into three categories (based on direction from Koh Tao): northern, eastern and southern routes.

(more…)

Aquanauts' Roger M. Smith (center) with the MV Trident's Jamie MacLeod (left) and Stuart Oehl. The Trident's famed deep wreck explorers finally got CCR certified with Aquanauts' help.

When it comes to wreck hunting and exploration in Thailand, there are few who can rival the experience of the MV Trident’s Jamie Macleod and Stuart Oehl. But what may surprise many is that nearly all their technical expeditions have been done on open-circuit, not closed-circuit rebreathers.

“We’ve been meaning to get some proper training on CCR for ages,” Jamie said. “We’ve organized dozens of CCR expeditions and supervised thousands of dives so the theory and logistics of the unit weren’t going to be too much of a problem. It was simply the diving we needed.”

Having known for Jamie for years – and with Aquanauts positioned as one of Thailand’s premier rebreather-training centers – I offered to get both guys certified and started on the road to becoming CCR instructors. (more…)

When it comes to diving shipwrecks, some feel there’s a distinct difference between diving wrecks sunk as artificial reefs (or insurance payouts) and wrecks on which people died. Many of these underwater tombs are only accessible to technical divers who both feel the thrill of seeing history close-up, but feel the weight of the events that lead countless seamen to their depths.

The U.K.’s Diver magazine has a great take on diving grave wrecks in its July issue. Author Michael Sawyer said he doesn’t dive grave wrecks to be a “ghoul,” but simply because “I’m drawn to wrecks. Period.”

“It would be foolish, however, as a diver, not to address the moral aspect while adding the (ship) to the logbook, considering that it’s a tomb, and a relatively recent one at that,” he wrote. (more…)

The deep wreck explorers at Koh Tao’s MV Trident are back home after their early July expedition to the HTMS Pangan. The three-day, three-night tech liveaboard hosted tech divers from various Koh Tao schools.

Rediscovered in August 2005, the Pangan is Royal Thai Navy ship bult in Japan before World War II. Carrying ammunition and gunpowder for disposal, she reportedy sunk in a storm and fire in 1961. The wreck is about 60 nautical miles from Koh Tao. (more…)

Inside the HTMS Pangan. (Photo: Ayesha at Big Buddha Diving via Thai Wreck Diver)

The wreck hunters at the MV Trident will sail again July 2 for the HTMS Pangan on a 3-day, 3-night tech liveaboard trip.

Rediscovered in August 2005,  the Pangan is Royal Thai Navy ship bult in Japan before World War II. Carrying ammunition and gunpowder for disposal, she reportedy sunk in a storm in 1961. Fire damage on the superstructiure indicates a fire, however. There was no loss of life.

This wreck is about 60 nautical miles from Koh Tao, an easy 6 hour run. She lies on her port side in 60 meters of clear water, the top of the wreck is at 48 meters. Length is about 60 meters, beam 10 meters and weight approximately 3,000 tons.  The Pangan is very well appointed with twin screws, lots of portholes, telegraphs and deck machinery. (more…)

The following is a trip report by Lance Robb of Closed-Circuit Divers in Australia which last month chartered Koh Tao’s MV Trident for a week-long tech liveaboard. If you’ve got a great Thailand tech diving trip report, use the Contact form to let us know.

Stuey next to the forward deck gun USS Lagarto

The MV Trident usually operates out of Koh Tao and considering the distance we had to travel to get to these wreck sites the boys decided to take the boat to Koh Samui, so we all made our way there to join the boat.

That afternoon had us assembling our equipment pumping tanks and generally settling in for the week ahead. That evening around 7.00pm we slipped the lines and we were on our way and motored all night and into mid morning before we arrived at our first mark. We arrived on the position all very excited with most of us in the wheelhouse glued to the sounder looking for the big red lump protruding from the normally flat sandy bottom of the Gulf. (more…)

American public television this weekend will debut a documentary about the mission, sinking and — 60 years later — discovery of the USS Lagarto, a U.S. submarine sunk by the Japanese during World War II in the Gulf of Thailand and found by Jamie Macleod and the crew of Koh Tao’s MV Trident.

“Lost and Found: The Legacy of the USS Lagarto” will air on Public Broadcasting System channels in Chicago, Milwaukee, Wisc.; and Indianapolis, Ind. to mark the annual Memorial Day holiday.  Airing times can be found here. The one-hour film was made by Chicago filmmakers Harvey Moshman and Chuck Coppola, who produced the Emmy Award-winning local documentary “The Eastland Disaster.”

The Lagarto was one of 28 submarines built by the Wisconsin’s Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. during World War II. Weeks before the end of the war in May 1945, it sank in the Gulf of Thailand. The sub was lost for more than sixty years, until May 2005, when it was discovered  sitting upright in 225 ft. of water. (more…)