Nishan
Contributor
Just returned from my second visit to the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. For those of you who dont know the Hermes is the worlds first purpose built aircraft carrier and was sunk by Japanese bombing off the east coast of Sri Lanka during WWII.
During our first trip in June we had good viz of almost 30m and calm seas but this time the currents were strong and viz was about 10m. Fish life was much better though with some large schools of snapper and barracuda along with some large potato cods and lots of dogtooth tuna. The wreck is also covered in large black corals.
The ship is almost upside down on the flight deck but it appears that the ship has partially twisted close to the bow and is on its side towards the front. Only one of the twin propellors appear to be intact. The main tower is also broken. Overall, most of the ship is intact and penetration is possible. Several anti-aircraft guns including at least one of the large Bofor guns are intact. We recorded a max depth of 53m with the top of the ship starting at around 42m.
Diving logistics are pretty basic so it takes some serious planning and patience to get things done but overall its worth it. Diving the worlds first aircraft carrier and probably the only diveable one sunk in action is something special. Most importantly, it is now possible to dive the Hermes again after some years of conflict in the area. The situation in Batticaloa and eastern Sri Lanka is far from perfect but is relatively safe at the moment. You just have to be ready to travel on some really bad roads and deal with lots of checkpoints.
Will try and post a few pictures of the wreck soon.
During our first trip in June we had good viz of almost 30m and calm seas but this time the currents were strong and viz was about 10m. Fish life was much better though with some large schools of snapper and barracuda along with some large potato cods and lots of dogtooth tuna. The wreck is also covered in large black corals.
The ship is almost upside down on the flight deck but it appears that the ship has partially twisted close to the bow and is on its side towards the front. Only one of the twin propellors appear to be intact. The main tower is also broken. Overall, most of the ship is intact and penetration is possible. Several anti-aircraft guns including at least one of the large Bofor guns are intact. We recorded a max depth of 53m with the top of the ship starting at around 42m.
Diving logistics are pretty basic so it takes some serious planning and patience to get things done but overall its worth it. Diving the worlds first aircraft carrier and probably the only diveable one sunk in action is something special. Most importantly, it is now possible to dive the Hermes again after some years of conflict in the area. The situation in Batticaloa and eastern Sri Lanka is far from perfect but is relatively safe at the moment. You just have to be ready to travel on some really bad roads and deal with lots of checkpoints.
Will try and post a few pictures of the wreck soon.
