www.deeplens.com

1

THE SPYSHIP AT

ZABAGAD PETER COLLINGS

Free e- book extract from the forthcoming publication

EGYPTIAN SHIPWRECKS

www.deeplens.com

2

ESTABLISHED 1954

CALL US ON 01642486666

Premier Dive, Outdoor and Watersports Store

www.deeplens.com

3

DEEP LENS.COM UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY & WORLDWIDE SAFARIS

AQUATIC IMAGERY SINCE 1985

14 AINTREE DRIVE , SHOTLEY BRIDGE, CO. DURHAM DH8 ONT TEL 01207504160 MOBILE 07860468174 Email: deeplens@AOL.COM;

WWW.deeplens.com BSAC PREMIER SCHOOL

www.deeplens.com

4

CONTENTS DENNY DIVING page 2 OLYMPIC/SNEFRO/DEEPLENS page3 The e book concept page 4 Introduction page 5 AP VALVES page7 Area Map page 8 Moma Class(Project 861) page9 DIVELIFE page 11 Specifications ?DIVERS WAREHOUSE page12 UWAHU UK page13 Cold War History page14 Zabagad Island page 16 MIFLEX XTREME HOSES page17 The wreck today page 18 DIVE LIFE page 19 Independent report page 20 SEA & SEA page 24 OONAS/STARFISH/LOG-IT.COM Page25 Bibliography page26 MIFLEX XTREME HI DIVING HOSES page 27 2009 expedition report page 28 DEEPLENS page 29 2 BUY 1 CLICK page30

THE E BOOK CONCEPT The idea of the E BOOK series came about after seeing so many incorrect publications quoting the wrong identity of the Tile Wreck at Abu Nuhas in the Red Sea. Despite a plethora of undeniable facts p resented by myself and members of the Red Sea Wreck Academy, self proclaiming experts still, for reasons known only to themselves, continued to quote the MARCUS as the CHRISOULA K. It was archive photographs from Howard Rosenstien and the location of the ships bell, which added weight to Stephan Jablonski’s accounts of the sinkings’. This new material gave us enough to produce the first E book in 2008. Being free from restrictions it soon found its way around the world and was passed on from diver to diver. It had the desired effect-Now more and more reports carry the correct identity. It was also an opportunity to give something back to diving –and promote the forthcoming “EGYPTIAN SHIPWRECKS.” Of course there was also controversy over the identity and purpose of the RUSSIAN WRECK at Zabagad, and this lead to the second title. THISTLEGORM REVEALED is a leader for the new publication “SUNDERLAND TO SUEZ THE STORY OF THE THISTLEGORM”, out now. “SUEZ WRECKS ” highlights the achievements of our regular wreck hunting trips up into the Gulf, and “EGYPTIAN SHIPWRECKS” gives a glimpse of the forthcoming book featuring over 200 wrecks in Egyptian waters. So now we have a total of 5 titles available, ( and several more on the way), yours to enjoy and pass on-to anyone who may be interested-and don’t forget we run regular expeditions and safaris to all these featured Red Sea Wrecks

www.deeplens.com

5

Safe diving! PETER COLLINGS aka ABU HADIDA INTRODUCTION This is a fascinating shipwreck and has been the centre of much debate since we located her back in 1994. While running the BSAC expeditions, mapping and charting many of the well known sites in Southern Egypt we found several wrecks. This one was quite by accident. We had gone to explore Zabagad, actually looking for the MAIDEN and needed a p lace to stay for the night. As we pulled into the bay I noticed lifeboats on the shore- one at each end of the bay. As I snorkelled over to one of them, I came across the “Russian Wreck”. It was a natural, but wrong conclusion that the lifeboats had come from this wreck. They were in fact too big! We were later to again stumble across a wreck-in 70mtrs + which we believe is the TAIWAN. The life boats, English in origin may have come from her. The initial dives on the small “cargo” ship revealed some strange facts-and I proclaimed that it was a spy ship. Other team members remained un convinced. During the late 90’s the wreck became a regular feature in our Southern Wreck itinerary and more and more clues were found strengthening my identification. In the original publication of SHIPWRECKS OF THE EGYPTIAN RED SEA, she remained un identified, until the reprint in 2006 when her full story was revealed. By 2000 much of my research and publications were being plagiarised by a self proclaiming expert who hadn’t even dived most of these wrecks. This “expert” blagged his way onto a livaboard and demanded to be taken to the wreck to prove to the world I was wrong and that it was merely a fishing trawler. The dive master happened to be as good friend on mine and the manner of the “expert” got right up his Egyptian nose. Instead of going to Zabagad, the “expert” was taken to another Island-where there was indeed (and still is) a fishing trawler…………… Still not satisfied our “expert” demanded the magazine editors expose me as a fraud- claiming I “invented” wrecks to fill my safaris! One editor, by chance was on board a liveboard with me and we went to the Russian Wreck. I had on board a team of experts ranging from military communications, electronic engineers, Even a retired aircraft carrier “driver” as he described himself. Our objective was simple-get to the bottom of this mystery. Our esteemed guest and editor of DIVE , Mr Simon Rogerson was enthralled by the mission-and that was echoed in his editorial preceding the publication of the feature “ The Riddle of The Russian wreck” in DIVE MARCH 2006. During our visit, Dave went missing .He had followed the HT cable ashore, and it lead him to a grounding plate, which , he informed us would have been used as a satellite uplink base. Dave also took great interest in the multicore cables running up the comms mast. Another Dave, this time an electronics expert was taken into the battery room. He took great interest in the circuit schematics posted at the end of each row

www.deeplens.com

6

From this information he was able to confirm the purpose of so many batteries ( we estimated 200+) The post dive briefings given by Dave our Army communications expert and indeed his follow up report left us in little doubt as to the purpose of this vessel. A recent theory but forward by another scribbler suggests that she was a cargo ship, servicing the Egyptian Military base on the island. Well she sank before the base was established and shen doesn’t have any cargo holds…………… So judge for yourself –the facts are all there-one thing though is for certain-this vessel was NEVER used for fishing, well not for catching fish anyway…………….. Better still join us on our next southern wreck safari! MY THANKS TO: The stalwart members of the Red Sea Wreck Academy for their help over the years. Their support has been a vital part of our continued success! Thanks also to all our sponsors. My special thanks also to Simon-for publishing the facts.

Throughout the vessel there are many badges like this one, confirming the nationality of the vessel. Several of these have been translated, and verify the findings of out experts. This is certainly not a

vessel used to catch fish!

www.deeplens.com

7

www.deeplens.com

8

Map designed by Mike Fenney of dive-logs.com

www.deeplens.com

9

THE RUSSIAN WRECK-(MOMA CLASS PROJECT 861M)

A diver hovers over the stern of the Momar class Surveillance vessel at Zabagad Island .The damage from the explosion can clearly be seen in the starboard hull.On the aft deck are the winches for towing the sonar arrays. THE DISCOVERY During the early BSAC expeditions to Southern Egypt, one of our main targets was to locate the wreck of the MAIDAN, as well as exploring the undived sites of the south. Cruising around Zabagad we found two lifeboats lying on the shore. We thought they might be from the Maidan and spent the next day diving the outer reefs of St John’s or Zabagad island. Encountering a school of hammerheads we noticed a large freighter in deep water (70mtrs) below us. Beyond our remit, we could only speculate that this might be the Maidan, indeed we now know she is likely to be the TAIWAN. We decided to check out 2 lifeboats-English pump action type- lying on the shore and in doing so stumbled across a cargo ship-her radio and comms mast just below the surface. At first we thought the lifeboats were from this ship, but again we were to be proved wrong. The initial dive was a hurried one –the last day of that years expedition. The initial appearance of the ship was that she was simply a small cargo vessel which had run aground- quite recently- not much coral and indeed a painted emblem on her funnel. Electronic equipment lay all around the ship- much more than the usual array of masts coils and cables . Russian lettering on notice plates were everywhere, her compass originating from Denmark. An intact helm and bridge provided a fascinating dive- if anyone had been here before they had left her undisturbed. As we sailed away we were all excited at the find and speculated over the two wrecks with lots of unanswered questions. My suggestion that this little cargo ship was indeed a Russian spy ship was met with ridicule –I was told I watched too many Bond films. My instincts wouldn’t let go. I returned to the wreck whenever our schedule allowed. The more I diver her, the more convinced I was about my theory. On 8th June of 2003, the day after John Womack (OtterWater Sports and myself found the Maiden ,I took an electronics expert deep into the Russian wreck-showing him the racks of batteries-and the schematics at the end of each row. Although I couldn’t understand his technical jargon through his mouthpiece I got the gist of what he was getting at. All these batteries could only mean one thing. The ship needed a clean power source for her purpose. Her usual generators would give of radiated and

www.deeplens.com

10

transmitted noise-batteries wouldn’t. He traced the cables-some ended where a piece of equipment had been removed through an access panel in the hull. Other cables ran forward and we were not to discover their destination for another year. David you see is “rotund” and couldn’t quite squeeze through the ducting! .We eventually had to drag him away from “all that electronic stuff” I became an expert in electronic jargon after that dive ; “switch mode”, “multi phase”, “dirty” and “clean” power. Another convert for my theory.

SYNCHRONIZATION 1 TYRES 1G 2 TYRES 3G 3 ELECTRICAL CUT OUT 4 S5 TYRES 2G

TENSION & FREQUENCY S.P.B 1 ELECTRICAL CUT OUT 2 TY RE AS 3TYRE VS 4TYRE AB

INSTALLATION & MAINTAINANCE FOR NAVIGATION SHIELD

The Moma (Project 861) was and is a costal survey ship. They are also used as buoy tenders. The converted Moma (Project 861M) is an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) gathering ship converted from Moma class survey ship/buoy tenders. These ships carry SSV (Communications Vessel) numbers on the bow

THE UN-DENIABLE CLUES. Throughout the ship we found evidence of electronic surveillance equipment. One room, located below and behind the bridge was a communications centre. Desks packed with electronic gauges, dials, knobs and switches-desks for 6 -10 personnel. The switches were all labelled in Russian-some examples on the left with their translations. The word TYRE has 3 meanings in Russia- a car tyre, a surgical splint and an electric buss-or distribution board sometimes known as a buzz bar. The battery room contained over 200 batteries in 4 sections each with a schematic at each end. The cables traced back into the communications room. The HT lead running ashore was armoured and multi cored-leading to a solid base- on the island-no doubt for a fixed array. The Comms mast had huge multcore cables running through it-far more than a coastal vessel or a trawler would need.Several directional findingantenna were also

located close by.

The plate opposite was located on the winch-and when translated revealed some crucial evidence . Machinery Code (pos. index) 6-4 Anchor Cable 31mm works no. 155 date of manufacture 1973 actual weight 3200 kg (OTK) mechanical control

www.deeplens.com

11

Astrakhan SSZ im. 10-iy God. Oktyabrskoy Rev olyutsii, Astrakhan

The ‘Moma’ class electronic surveillance ship (Project 861M)

www.deeplens.com

12

Specification Russian Designation: SSV (Communications Ship) Builder: Stocznia Polnocna, Gdansk (Poland) Role: ELINT Year adopted: 1967 Number in Class: 28 ships total (production from 1968 – 1974) Operational Status: Russia: Still in active service Disp lacement: 1,580 tons full load Length: 73.3 meters. Draught: 3.8 meters.Beam:10.8 meters Crew: 41 – 120 Officers and Sailors (depending on the mission) Engine: 2 x Zgoda/sulzer 6TD48 diesel engines delivering 3,600 hp Max Speed: 17 Knots Range: 8,700 Nautical miles at 11 knots Sensor Suite: 2 x Don-2 navigational radars Sonar: Bronza arraysElectronic Warfare: Intercept and DF arrays

www.deeplens.com

13

www.deeplens.com

14

Cold War Russian ELINT history Nearly all ship's registered under the Russian flag would have carried a "Zampolit", or Political Officer, onboard who was in regular contact with Moscow which would give the appearance of any vessel of the Russian fleet, commercial or otherwise, of tha of a spy ship. Although the Russians did use commercial vessels for the gathering of information from other countries using SIGINT (Signals Intelligence Gathering), and ELINT (Electronic Signals Intelligence) as well. The ship in question here has an "SSV" designation (Sudno Svyazyy , or communications vessel) located on its hull which positively identifies it as a MOMA (Project 861M) Class ship, a modified 861-class survey/bouy tender. During the early years of the Cold War (late 1940's-early 1950's) Russia did not have an extensive network of overseas listening posts. In the early 1950's the Russian government began to develop a versatile and affordable alternative to land-based surveillance outposts in the form of using commercial ships. The common fishing trawler quickly became the favoured vessel for conducting surveillance of foreign governments. These vessels were affordable to operate and maintain, had good sea-going capabilities, and had cargo holds which could be easily be modified to carry SIGINT and ELINT equipment discretely out of sight. Additionally, they were portable, which allowed them to be placed in international waters off the coasts of almost any country in the world in order to conduct surveillance with minimal harassment. As the development of these "spy ships" evolved, Russia began constructing

purpose-built ELINT platforms. The wreck of the ship lies in 24 meters of water in the western bay of Zabargad Island. The ships presence in the southern Red Sea should not surprise anyone that follows world politics and military events. The Russians had established a FAPSI-GRU surveillance facility in 1971 on Socotra Island at Yemen's Ras Karm Military Airbase. Use of the facility continued until the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Socotra Island is strategically important because it lies at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Control of this island effectively allows for an unlimited ability to conduct monitoring of shipping, both commercial and military, entering and leaving the Red Sea. So a Russian "spy ship" in the southern Red Sea should come as no surprise to anyone. The MOMA-class ships were originally designed as survey ships and buoy tenders. To the average observer, a survey ship moored at Zabargad Island would not raise too many questions as the island has had numerous geological surveys conducted on it over the years due to its location along a tectonic rift. Additionally, a gem known as "Peridot" (Chrysolite) was mined on the island from at least the Ptolomaic era until well into the 20th century.

One of many cable junction boxes found throughout the ship. Note the use of English headings and Russian lettering. Evidence of both were found throughout the vessel.Some legends had been painted over, suggesting a refit and change of mission during her career.

www.deeplens.com

15

DID SHE HAVE A NAME ? Research shows that many of these vessels did in fact carry more than justva code number. ANDROMEDA saw service in the Baltic, while ANTARES and ANTARKTIDA were operating in the Pacific, with KRIL’ON and MARS working off Norway.

The Russians were operating out of the Dallak Islands (Eritria) during the cold war After Ethiopia allied itself with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, following the rise of the Derg, the Dahlak Archipelago was the location of a Soviet Navy base[1]. In 1990, Ethiopia lost control of the Dahlak Archipelago and the northern Eritrean coast to the Eritrean independence movement EPLF and by 1991 Ethiopia had lost control of all of Eritrea. Following the international recognition of Eritrean independence in 1993, the Dahlak Archipelago became a part of Eritrea.

The wreck has many intruging aspects for the wreck detective to examine. We have found no evidence anywhere to suggest she was invoved in fishing of any kind!

ZABAGAD ISLAND

This photograph was taken by American surveillance aircraft in the Southern Red Sea during the Ethioptian /Eritrean war, a year prior to the sinking of the wreck. The letters on the name board are in English and read RIBACHI. Our team are currently investigating this vessels details to campare with the wreck If we can confirm engine

numbers we will have identified the wreck!

www.deeplens.com

16

St. John's Island (also known as Zagbargad, Zebirget, Topazios) covers an area of 4.50 sq.Km. Its highest point is 235mtrs.

The island is a fragment of the sub-Red Sea lithosphere. Rocks on the island are mainly lower crustal metamorphic rocks.. The island comprises three massives of peridotite, which are rich in the gemstone peridote ( olivine). This gem makes the island notable as it is believed to be the first discovered source of peridot, which was called topazios in ancient times, hence the Greek name for the island, Topazios. Layers of sp inel-lherzolites with anhydrous Al-diopside pyroxenites and hydrous Cr-diopside pyroxenites can be found too on the island. The presence of all of these minerals has led to mining on the island which dates back as early as ancient times. The strata’s can be clearly seen, especially as the sun drops

Transparent olivine is sometimes used as a gemstone called peridot, the French word for olivine. It is also called chrysolite, from the Greek words for gold and stone. Some of the finest gem-quality olivine has been obtained from a body of mantle rocks on Zabargad island

.It was here that the ship was anchored before her sinking, tucked away in a quite lagoon under the shadow of mountains. The Island is also the location of at least one other wreck- the S.S. TAIWAN, which was sighted in deep water during our early BSAC expeditions, when we were looking for the MAIDAN. The lifeboats which were once located on the beach, did not come from the Russian wreck. They may have originated from one of the other ships. We may never know. They have disappeared over the years. Close by is Rocky Island, its reefs are a stark contrast to those of Zabagad and it tends to attract most of the visiting divers. Its walls and shark encounters are world class. The fabulous wreck of the Maidan lies there too in very deep water. These assets have helped keep the “Russian wreck” out of the spotlight The Island comes under the Marine Parks and can be visited without problem, provided the livaboard has the correct permissions .Suggestions elsewhere that the area is off limits is totally incorrect

www.deeplens.com

17

www.deeplens.com

18

THE WRECK TODAY

Tucked away inside a lagoon under the mountains of Zabagad Island, the wreck sits upright in shallow clear water, her second comms mast almost reaching the surface Her engine room and bridge are

amongst the many areas which we have explored. The wreck lies upright in 24 mtrs in the western bay of Zabagad Island. Her bow and small hold have broken off and lie over to port, full of the obligatory glassfish. There is no evidence of any cargo. She is otherwise intact, with a stern superstructure and engine room. Access to her bridge, complete with instruments, engine room and galley along with companionway swim-throughs is easy and exciting.

Her instrument panel and helm are located in the bridge behind which is a navigation room and stairs down into the accommodation and galley areas. Evidence of beds, tool boxes and every day items are

WAS SHE DELIBERATELY SUNK? Left; Engine room hatch covers deliberately removed and all the hinges on the water tight doors have bee cut with a burning torch. A side panel in the port side has also been removed and equipment withdrawn from 4 mounting posts The vessel was left in such a way as to prevent it ever being raised.

www.deeplens.com

19

scattered throughout the interior. Large diameter corrugated hoses lie in her stern and her single forward hold. All her deck fittings are visible, and intact including the empty lifeboat davits, stern winch, cable drums for the towed arrays and “toadstool” ventilator tops. Her central comms mast almost breaks the surface. Compass posts sit at each side of the flying bridge. Access to the engine room and her accommodation area can be gained from doors situated on the rear deck. The rear section of the ship can also be explored from the large holes in her hull. It is possible with care to enter the engine room this way and then exit via the rear doorways or her skylights. In front of the wheelhouse is a control room for what appears to be piping and valves for liquid fuel. The lack of depth (max 24 mtrs) means the wreck is usually bathed in strong sunlight, the clearer water being the upper levels as the sandy bed often becomes cloudy if a swell is p resent. The stern sitting bolt upright is an impressive sight and is very photogenic. The bow section lies over to starboard, the bow itself hard into the reef, and the central raised walkway having broken of from the main section by the deckhouse. Near the winch is an upright structure possibly a crane of some kind and access to the hold is open or though one of two service hatches on the deck or for the less adventurous through a he gash in her starboard side. From the walkway a forward comms mast runs out almost horizontal and is home to many small reef fishes and soft corals. Small coral growths have now established themselves on the wreck and antheas adorn the funnel along with several lionfish. The surrounding area is littered with DF masts and several antenna, and radio sets lie off towards the shore amongst the corals- all distinctly Russian

www.deeplens.com

20

POST DIVE FINDINGS An independent report

Our survey of the ship was greatly enhanced by the input of Dave. our Army comms expert. Below is his report Introduction It was clear on the first dive that this ship was no trawler. The first thing that gave it away for me was the amount of antenna mountings fi tted to the masts and the Narrow Band Direction Finding (DF) antenna lying next to the ship. It was also clear when entering the ship through the obvious salvage hole that somebody had removed a lot of equipment in a hurry. This equipment was almost all electronic as the tell tale power and control cables were either cut or physically ripped from what ever owned them. Whatever equipments they were also needed a lot of power due to the size of the power distribution panels and battery banks. The equipments are detailed later in the report. Whatever this ship was and why it was operating in this area is yet to be seen but whoever owned it did not want it to be identified or salvaged. The cable connecting the ship to shore was a strange one. Why would a ship have an umbilical to shore, my theory later on in the report. The use of a fishing trawler to disguise the true identity of a ships intensions was big business during the Cold War. It was not only the Soviets that were at i t, there was also a lot of controversy surrounding the British Intelligence Community using them and then the Russians sinking them. Pictured below is a Russian trawler converted for surveillance use. I think you will agree that i t looks quite similar to the one lying at twenty odd meters albeit a smaller version. This got me researching and asking a few questions into what the Russians had and have. I came up with a few possible targets but the style and size of the ship did not match. Then I heard about the Moma through a contact, which util ised the fact that it did resemble a trawler to the untrained eye. The following report is based on my findings with a l ittle educated guess work. The ‘Moma’ class electronic surveillance ship (Project 861M) Introduction

The Moma (Project 861) was and is a costal survey ship. They are also used as buoy tenders. This class has been extensively exported and converted for other uses, both in the USSR/Russia and abroad. There are believed to be 6 in reserve and others have been discarded. The converted Moma (Project 861M) is an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) gathering ship converted from Moma class survey ship/buoy tenders. Only two units have undergone major conversions, wi th other units having minor conversions. These ships carry SSV (Communications Vessel ) numbers on the bow. Equipment Electronic Intelligence Gathering Equipment

These ships carry a widespread amount of surveillance equipment. This varies from Direction Finding to Electronic Surveillance equipments. The equipment carried would be able to supply coverage from 5MHz up to 500MHz. This covers the HF, VHF and UHF bands and would depend on the mission or targets required. Modern day equipments are able to use one multiband antenna with a multiplexer, to allow the operator to scan through the required frequency spectrum and DF using only one antenna and one rack of equipment. In the early days, cold war era, there were separate receivers and DF equipment for HF, VHF and UHF. In turn this would require a lot of antennas, power requirements and operators.

Electronic surveillance is a relatively basic operation. It consists of a receiver and an antenna. The receiver would be of the required type i .e. HF, VHF or UHF. The receivers would have been roughly 19” square and the depth of a normal video player. These then would be mounted in racks and stacked on top of each other. These would then be connected to the required antenna via a patch panel of some sort. This is not like connecting your TV. The antenna has to be made to receive the required frequency range. With this, different types of antenna will

www.deeplens.com

21

receive signals from a greater distance than others. There would also have been the provision to record the intercepted signals for later analysis.

Direction Finding however is not so basic. A basic system would comprise of two receivers. One receiver is for monitoring only and the other for DF. The DF receiver would then be connected to some sort of processor. All this is connected to the antenna itsel f. The antenna receives the signal and passes i t to the processor in the form of vol tages. There is a lot of maths done in the processor which gives you the bearing to the target. The antennas used can be seen clearly on the photographs below:

The ship would have carried two of these antennas, one on the fore mast and one mounted on the mast above the bridge area.

The antennas vary from (1) some form of UHF antenna, (2) DF antenna, (3) HF antenna suspended between the two masts. This could be either communications or an intelligence gathering antenna. Also (4) some form of intelligence gathering antenna. Sonar Array As previously mentioned, these ships are Hydrographic survey ships that have been converted into something a little more sinister. As seen on the wreck there are three large cable drums that were possibly used to stow a towed sonar array. There are two possibilities of the sonar type:

The DF Array can be clearly seen mounted on the top of the mast

2

1

2

3

4

Other antennas carried on the ship would vary from ship to ship, ship to shore and long range communications antennas. Also with these it would have carried various types of receiving antenna for the different frequency ranges. The amount of antennas carried can be clearly seen on the photograph below:

www.deeplens.com

22

Active Sonar

It’s hard to say what a Soviet ship was using sonar for, as there are many different uses. Its possible they were trying to find something that they had lost, map the sea bed for submarine passage planning or for detecting submarine operations. Power/Battery Room This room would have been the main stay for all ships electric power distribution. This could vary from the navigation systems down to domestic supply. I would say that a lot of the distribution would have been taken up with the surveillance equipment and communications. The ships generator would have provided the main input to the distribution panels. After that voltage conversion, regulation and rectification would have been carried out as some equipment could have been quite susceptible to damage by a power surge or an unclean voltage. The batteries could have been used as a backup for communications and I would say that was the likely use for them. These would be constantly trickle charged from the ships generator and there would have been some type of switching system between generator and battery supplies. Cable to Shore At fi rst sight the cable could have been mistaken for a power supply to the ship while it was at dock. On the dive I cut away the top layer of insulation to try and reveal what type of cable it was. The cable was armoured, for protection from the elements and was multi cored. If this was a power cable then you would expect to see quite thick cores of cable, maybe 3 to 5 cores. This was not the case. The cores were relatively thin and there were quite a lot of them. My theory behind this is that i t was not been used for power but i t formed some form of electronic control and signal path between ship and shore. What follows is a number of possible uses. Remote surv eillance equipment. If the ships surveillance antennas were been used, then equipment could have been put ashore and the cable would pass the required controls back and forth from the antenna. Remote communications antenna. If the ship was talking to a base a given distance away then i t most probably would have been doing so using High Frequency (HF) transmission. An antenna therefore would have been ground mounted away from the ship to reduce the dangers of non ionising radiation. The dangers been that the transmission output would have to be quite large to get the required distance. Another reason for ground mounting antennas is that they are quite large for transmission over large distances. Remote surveillance antenna. It i s possible that the ship could have remoted it’s surveillance antennas to get a greater range and a broader spectrum. It is quite plausible that it could have been used in one of the above three ways as these methods are employed with various agencies around the world. There are signs on land that there was some sort of metal structure. It’s possible that it was some form of antenna array, communications or surveillance.

Passive Sonar Passive sonar or listening sonar’s, use sound related (usually involuntarily) by the target. In this case, only one way transmission is involved and the system centres around the hydrophone array, used to listen to the target sounds. These arrays are towed behind the ship and may be greater than 500m long.

Active sonar systems are said to be active when sound is purposely generated by a component called the projector (an underwater loudspeaker). The sound waves generated travel through the sea to a target and are returned as echoes to a hydrophone array (underwater microphones), which converts the sound into an electrical signal. The source projector for active sonar’s may be either mounted on the hull of the vessel or fitted in a towed body that can be lowered to the best depth for target detection. This is known as variable depth sonar and the depth will depend on the depth of the target and also sound propagation conditions. Other equipment that would have been used in conjunction with a towed array would consist of some form of sound generator, to provide the ping from a submerged object. This would be quite a bulky bi t of kit and would require quite a lot of power to run and operate it. Also as with all sonar, some form of user display would have been used. In the early days a Cathode Ray Tube would be the method for display but i t is possible that some form of graphical/computer based system was used.

www.deeplens.com

23

Conclusion I don’t think we will ever know the true identity of the wreck but I think i t is safe to say that it was a surveillance ship of some type and she was sent to the bottom for a reason. As I said earlier, there is a lot of educated guess work involved with this; you can’t just look up on the internet to tell you what equipment i t carried etc because of the nature of the ship. D.O.

www.deeplens.com

24

www.deeplens.com

25

www.deeplens.com

26

PETER COLLINGS BIBLIOGRAPHY-PUBLICATIONS 1986- 2009

1986 1988 1991 1996

2000 2001 2002 2002

2005 2008 2008

COMING SOON;”66YEARS UNDERWATER -TRUK LAGOON. MALDIVES SHIPWRECKS.SHIPWRECKS OF CORON BAY,EGYPTIAN SHIPWRECKS”, THE OTHER TRUK-PALAU

www.deeplens.com

27

www.deeplens.com

28

DECEMBER 2009 EXPEDITION REPORT In December 2009, our team once again visited the wreck, exploring deep into her interior, location several more rooms indicating her purpose – A “Chemical Laboratory” was located below and behind the bridge, interesting that the legend was this time in English…….. One of our team was a marine architect-a mine of information. Based in Bremerhaven, Freso is making further investigations and a report will be included in the fi rst update.Here though are his thoughts on how she was scuttled…………

POSSIBLE CAUSE OF EXPLOSION , the valves we saw down there on deck are VECS (VAPOUR EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEMS) used on tankers. It is an arrangement of piping and hoses used to control vapour emissions collected from a tank. Used for

"Flammable cargoes" means cargoes of crude oil, petroleum products etc.This pressure/vacuum valves are

designated to prevent the passage of flame into cargo tanks and to reli eve pressure and vacuum during cargo

loading/unloading on cargo tanks. I saw 4x VECS on deck of the wreck. She had 4 big tanks amidships. One possible senario could be an accidental/sabotage explosion on this area. The ship broke into 2 pieces. The bow went down immediately and the stern (no bow anchor holding) hit the rocks. Sinking later. The survivals of explosion abandon her on life-boat and the stern went down. The vessel has a big amount of big hoses. Very strange for just a spy ship. Stored in rudder engine room and I cal l it "pump room". She was designed to receive/load fuel(?) from/to other boats/submarines. Remember that all electrical stuff like lamps, buttons, connection boxes etc had ex rating. Explosion-proof equipment for the use where combustible dusts are expected during some operations. I know, a lot of assumptions but I have the feeling the crew lost the vessel smoking close to dangerous spaces or something like that. This chemical laboratory we found could be a sample testing laboratory, means quality check of new received products...

Don’t forget we have other free e books available contact deeplens.com for more free e ebooks

www.deeplens.com

29

DEEP LENS.COM

UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY & WORLDWIDE SAFARIS

AQUATIC IMAGERY SINCE 1985

14 AINTREE DRIVE , SHOTLEY BRIDGE, CO. DURHAM DH8 ONT

TEL 01207504160 MOBILE 07860468174 Email: deeplens@AOL.COM; WWW.deeplens.com

BSAC PREMIER SCHOOL #574

For over 20 years we have been successfully organizing ,leading and escorting photographic and shipwreck safaris around the world, using the very best livaboards and dive centres. Our destinations include:

Egypt

Maldives

Palau

PNG

Sudan

Truk Lagoon

WE SPECIALISE IN WRECK HUNTING EXPEDITIONS and ASSOCIATED TRAINING

www.deeplens.com

30

Nothings ever black or white-especially where shipwrecks are concerned

www.deeplens.com

31

www.deeplens.com

32

THESE E BOOKS ARE SPONSORED BY:

AP VALVES

DENNEY DIVING

DIVELIFE

DIVERS WAREHOUSE

MIFLEX XTREME HOSES

OONAS DIVERS

SEA &SEA LTD.

2BUYICLICK

FISH & FINS