Malaysia: Shipwrecks Provide Tourism Potential For Labuan In Sabah

By Jailani Hasan LABUAN (Sabah, Malaysia), April 6 (Bernama) -- The ships that sank during World War II off the waters of Labuan hold tremendous potential for underwater tourism. This fact was attested by 18 divers from 10 nations during their just concluded 4-day familiarisation trip to the island. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors [PADI] certified divers noted that the ship wrecks now colonised by marine life and located not far from the island, are ready to serve as popular dive sites. One of shipwrecks is the Australian Wreck, located some 13 nautical miles away, near the Rusukan Besar island southwest of Labuan. Though it is not an Australian vessel, but was named so by the locals as it was sunk by an Australian aircraft in 1945 during World War II. It is actually a Dutch merchant ship captured by the Japanese then fitted with weapons. Nature and the passage of time has transformed what was once a lifeless wreck to an underwater natural wonder, rich in coral and other marine life. A particular feature of the wreck is the presence of resident palm-sized frogfish or anglerfish. Large groupers can be seen swimming about looking for an easy feed among the profusion of marine life and divers are forewarned where to place their hands as many stonefish and lion fish lie camouflaged around the wreck. AMERICAN WRECK Just 1.5 kilometre away, lies the American Wreck, the USS Solute (a minesweeper). During the Battle of Labuan, while the Allied forces were preparing for the invasion of the Brunei Bay, the minesweeper struck a mine midship. She buckled when she started to sink, with the bow portion folding back over on top of the stern section. The wreck lies 33 metres below on the sandy bottom with tangled masses of metal and cable. Depth chargers, ammunition shells, shoe, culinary and wire bottles can still be found scattered around the wreckage. To get into the two mentioned wrecks, divers must be certified in wreck diving or have previously logged experience in wreck diving. CEMENT WRECK Situated about 11 nautical miles from Labuan, east of Kuraman Island, lies the 105-metre modern freighter MV Tung Hwuang that sank in 1980. It is said that the vessel was ferrying a load of cement to the Brunei Sultanate but enroute she struck Samarany Bank and sank. The ship sits perfectly upright on the bottom at about 30 metres. Her masts stand at eight metres, the roof of the wheelhouse at 14 metres and the position of the wreck makes it ideal for novice divers and wreck diving training. Best months for diving in Labuan are between March to October. Visibility fluctuates with tidal changes but it adds to the wreck diving thrill. Little or no current is experienced at the wreck proper but could be stronger outside the perimeter of the wreck. All dives are conducted via anchor line with spare oxygen tanks provided at decompression stops. As wreck diving can be dangerous, one should always enquire about safety equipment provided by the operators, especially for decompression stops. BLUE WATER WRECK (MABINI PADRE) This wreck lies northeast of Kuraman Island and is 19 nautical miles from Labuan. It gets its name from the clear ‘blue’ waters, providing the best visibility. The Mabini Padre is a large Philippines fishing trawler, which caught fire and sank in 1981. The vessel lies on its port side, at a depth of 35 metres, with the starboard side rising to 24 metres. The site is a garden of soft corals (dendronephthya) and marine organisms that has encompassed much of the vessel. Henkel Sabine, a German professional diver who joined the familiarisation trip, said the ships especially those with historical value have a great tourism potential to be promoted as scuba diving sites. "We have seen abundance of marine life around the wrecks such as stingrays, octopus, barracuda and lionfish, and the coral reefs are still intact with beautiful colour," shared Sabine who owns a resort in the Philippines. "As we have not seen many divers exploring the sites, these wrecks with historical relevance have great potential to be promoted. I would like to come again and dive at these sites in the next few months after the monsoon season, where we will have better visibility," she said. Another diver in the trip Weeks Danial John, an American, said during the exploration he had seen beautiful soft coral reef around the wrecks. "I have also seen plenty of marine life even outside of the wrecks like schooling fish...as such I’m highly recommending divers to explore these wrecks," he said. For John, the historical value of the wrecks and the mystique surrounding them could be highlighted to the divers around the globe. With the right promotion and easier access to the island, Labuan could well be at the top of the list for underwater wreck divers from all over the world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SIDE BAR WHAT TO DO TO LURE IN THE TOURIST The tourism sector can be a major economic pillar and foreign exchange earner, but sadly the island continued to lag behind because of the lack of infrastructure and the relatively high cost for foreign tourists to get here. The government should first start addressing the problem of how difficult it is for foreign tourists to reach their destination to the island, as pointed out by one of the 10 divers in the trip. Federal Territory Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor had earlier said the government was planning to turn the Labuan Airport as another Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) to serve the East Asia region. This will help to lure in local and foreign investors as well as tourists from the region. Member of Parliament for Labuan Rozman Isli said the government would continue to improve the connectivity to link the duty free island to other cities and countries in the future. He is to raise the matter with the relevant authorities. The two leaders said the LCCT will cut foreign tourists' travel time and costs looking at the fact about 60 percent of the visitors come into the island through the ferry terminals. -- BERNAMA