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Vol 4 No 1 Mystery Marus Dozens of Japanese Maru, or large commercial transport vessels, were sunk in the Gulf of Siam and South China Sea during the latter stages of WWII. Most were sunk as a result of American submarine action and Allied Forces aerial bombing runs from India. Many of these wrecks are huge and would need several dives just to get a feel for any one of them. The MV Trident has surveyed the locations of many undersea anomalies in the Gulf of Siam, and has positively identified the following large wrecks within a days steaming of Koh Tao.
 - Two bulk carriers 1,000 and 3,000 ton carrying bitumen and tiles. Exploratory dives indicate that they were likely sunk by submarine surface fire, since although they are large, a submarine commander would usually save his limited supply of torpedoes for even larger vessels.
Location: 40nm north of Koh Tao. Depth: 55m
- A large military transport vessel of about 2,500 ton. Its condition indicates that this sank more recently (post WWII) and thus is likely a Thai naval vessel that sank during a storm. Survey dives indicate the vessel is carrying a full cargo of ammunition.
Location: 55nm NE of Koh Tao. Depth: 60m - The Tottorri Maru, a massive 5,900 ton passenger/cargo ship. Used as POW Hell ship for transporting allied POW to Bangkok to work on the Japanese Burma railway of WWII. Sunk by the American submarine USS-Hammerhead SS-364.
Location: 1 day south of Koh Tao. Depth 60m - The Sakura Maru, another massive 7,000 ton passenger/cargo, sunk by USS-Hammerhead.
Location: 100nm east of Koh Tao - The Nanmei Maru 3,800 ton. A fleet tanker, Hammerhead, same day as Sakura Maru
Deadly submarines!
One submarine, the USS Hammerhead, wreaked havoc among Japanese shipping in the Gulf of Siam during WWII. Below is an extract from her daily log (with thanks to http://uboat.net)
29 Mar, 1945
USS Hammerhead (Lt.Cdr. F.M. Smith) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese corvette (5740 tons) some 115 miles north of Cape Varella, French Indo-China in position 14.44N, 109.16E.
6 May, 1945
USS Hammerhead (Cdr. F.M. Smith) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese fleet tanker Kinrei Maru (3867 BRT) in the Gulf of Siam in position 08.15N, 102.00E.
15 May, 1945
USS Hammerhead (Cdr. F.M. Smith) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese transport ship Tottori Maru (5978 BRT) in the Gulf of Siam in position 09.12N, 101.20E.
 10 Jul, 1945
USS Hammerhead (Cdr. F.M. Smith) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Sakura Maru (7000 BRT) and the Japanese merchant tanker Nanmei Maru No.5 (3834 BRT) in the Gulf of Siam in position 09.38N, 101.31E.
Other American submarines also sunk tens of thousands of tons shipping in the Gulf of Siam. MV Trident has the sinking positions for all these vessels and the team are consistently receiving more information.
To be a part of researching and locating and diving more WW2 wrecks contact the MV Trident team.
Contact: Stewart Oehl +66 7882 5627, or Jamie Macleod +66 95913186 Waypoints
Gulf of Thailand
Nearest International Airport
Bangkok
Dry season
April to October
Electricity
Constant 220V
Local Currency
Thai Baht
Country Dialing Code
+66 Article references online & print:
http://www.techthailand.com - MV Trident Wreck Research vessel main web site.
http://www.thaiwreckdiver.com - For up to date information on the USS Lagarto
http://www.usslagarto.org - The official web site for USS Lagarto news
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08371a.htm - For the USS Lagarto’s home page on the authoritative ‘navsource.org’ web site
http://www.multied.com/navy/Submarine/lagarto.html - More Lagarto history
http://www.csp.navy.mil/news/111405vet.html - Veterans Day ceremony highlights newly found USS Lagarto
http://www.wisconsinmaritime.org/ - The Wisconsin Maritime Museum Veterans Day Ceremony honours the USS Lagarto. Submarine veterans were honoured in a Veterans Day ceremony held at Pearl Harbour Naval Station
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/blsubslost.htm - US submarines losses
http://www.maritime.org/fleetsub/ - Complete WWII Operating & Maintenance manuals for a ‘Fleet Submarine’
http://uboat.net - Submarine battle reports, chronology of sinkings
http://www.bowfin.org/website/index.cfm - The science & operation of a WWII submarine - The virtual tour is great
Ships Log for the USS Baya - The last vessel to contact the USS Lagarto) courtesy of Mr Fred Evans, Commercial Diver
Wisconsin Maritime Museum newsletter - Jul-Sep 1998 & Oct-Dec 1998 issues.
Wisconsin WWII Stories-The home front - Video cassette from the Wisconsin maritime Museum
Fresh Water Submarines: the Manitowoc Story - by Rear Admiral William T. Nelson, published Heffner printing 1988
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