Photograph © Dennis Champ
Projects
Princess of the Orient
Sept 19th 1998. Tropical Storm Vicki was beating the northern Philippines with 45 mph (75 km/h) winds when the Princess of the Orient left Manila at 8 p.m. bound for Cebu, about a day's journey to the south.
A storm warning prohibited ships of less than 500 tons from sailing, however this did not apply to the huge 13,734 ton ferry. Four hours later she was reported listing, a state from which she was unable to recover.
St Kilda Dive Guide
In 1983 The Divers Guide to St Kilda by Gordon Ridley was published, never to have been significantly updated or revisited up until now. It's not an easy book to come by as it is no longer in print. If you do manage to get hold of a copy you will quickly realise that the report is outdated and lacking in substance for use as a detailed guide for any of the specific sites.
Divers now have to rely on the knowledge of the skippers and any divers blogs they may have read before setting off. Until now...
Philippine Cave Systems
Negros Island in the central Philippines, or Visayan region is home to the second longest dry cave in the Philippines, and is a mecca for dry cavers from all over the world.
A large limestone karst region covering approximately 500sq miles is covered in dense jungle, and sparsely populated. Where there are dry caves, there are undoubtedly are submerged caves, and members of the Triton Oceanic team set out in 2007 to find them.
The Falkland Islands
The Falklands conflict was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
The conflict was triggered by the occupation of South Georgia by Argentina on 19 March 1982, followed by the occupation of the Falklands and ended when Argentina surrendered on 14 June 1982.
Triton plan to survey some wrecks of the conflict and document the remarkable subaquatic life around these unique and remote islands.
Project Kongo
His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Ship Kongō (金剛) was the first dreadnought to see service with the Imperial Japanese Navy and the first of four ships of her class.
Laid down in the Vickers yard in England in 1911, and launched sixteen months later on 18th May 1912, the design was considered revolutionary, influencing the design of subsequent battleships built by the Japanese and other navies and founding a lineage that would eventually give birth to super battleships such as the Yamato and the Musashi.
