THE future of recreational wreck diving appears bleak with the damage caused to shipwrecks by illegal salvage operators, who cannibalise sunken wrecks on the seabed off Pulau Tioman, Pahang.
Efforts must be made to preserve the shipwrecks, which comprised warships, submarines, super tankers and freighters, in Malaysian waters, urged the diving fraternity.
B&J Diving Centre Sdn Bhd managing director Zainal Rahman Karim said it was a shame that sunken ships with a historical significance were disappearing.
He said the country’s underwater sites that had heritage value drew a large number of tourists, who would go on liveaboard diving cruises and day-trip explorations to such sites.
“It is bad news when divers say shipwrecks in Malaysia are being blown apart.
“The popularity of the sites is declining. How would the survivors feel when they hear that the ships they served on during World War 2 are being torn apart?”
He said the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse Survivors Association and the next of kin of those who died in the war were concerned about the damage to the sunken ships.
He said they hoped that the authorities would act swiftly to stop the further demolition of the shipwrecks.
“The shipwrecks are big attractions and an icon for technical diving enthusiasts.”
Zainal, better known as Ben among those in the diving community, said although the sites of the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse wrecks were referred to as “war graves”, they were not legally war graves.
He said the activities of illegal salvage operators were uncovered when they looted several sunken Japanese ships off Penang and in the Straits of Malacca last year.
He said the scavengers then moved their operations to the South China Sea and Java Sea off Indonesia, following reports of their activities.
“If all shipwrecks with a historical significance are protected, no one can remove anything from the country’s seabed. Our concern is that the sunken ships will be removed within the next few years.”
Zainal, who has more than 25 years of diving experience, said scavengers had removed the massive propellers of HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales. He said each propeller blade was worth more than SG$25,000 (RM77,000).
He said the salvage operators ran as syndicates and had a proper understanding of the location of each sunken ship.
“The syndicates include dive crew and crane operators, who would take up any job as long as they are promised lucrative returns.”
Zainal said the explosives used to blow up the sunken ships posed a threat to marine life.
The director of a Singapore-based diving company, David Liu, said he had, on numerous occasions, tried to curb illegal scavenging.
“I am prepared to work with the authorities to find a solution to the problem.”
He said he had risked his life to preserve shipwrecks by taking divers to the site of HMS Repulse to place memorial flags.
However, he was caught by Malaysian authorities during a diving trip this year and consequently, spent 29 hours in detention.
Liu said British families visited the sites every year to perform simple rituals, such as laying flowers, cleaning the Union Jack flag and conducting services in memory of their loved ones, who had served as crewmen on board the ships.