HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, about northwest of
Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...
. An extension of the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...
, its shores were formerly the site of a major
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
facility, U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, now an industrial and commercial area known as the
Subic Bay Freeport Zone The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shorterned as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales, and the towns of Morong and Herm ...
under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. Today, water as well as the towns and establishments surrounding the bay are collectively known as Subic Bay. This includes the former naval base, Hanjin shipyard,
Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...
city, the municipal town of Subic, and the erstwhile US defense housing areas of Binictican and Kalayan housing, up to Morong, Bataan. The bay was long recognized for its deep and protected waters, but development was slow due to lack of level terrain around the bay.


History

In 1542, Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo sailed into Subic Bay but no port developed there because the main Spanish naval base would be established in the nearby
Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...
. When the British captured this base in 1762, the Spanish were forced to find an alternate location and Subic Bay was found to be a strategic and superb port location. In 1884, King
Alfonso XII of Spain Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...
decreed that Subic was to become "a naval port and the property appertaining thereto set aside for naval purposes." The Americans captured the Spanish base in 1899 during the
Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
, and controlled the bay until 1991. During this period, the naval facilities were greatly built up and expanded, including a new naval air station that was built in the early 1950s by slicing the top half from a mountain and moving the soil to reclaim a part of Subic Bay. In 1979, the area under American control was reduced from to when the Philippines claimed sovereign rule over the base. After the 1991
Mount Pinatubo Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive histor ...
eruption, the Americans closed the base, and the area was transformed into the
Subic Bay Freeport Zone The Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shorterned as Subic Bay or Subic, is a special economic zone and freeport area covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales, and the towns of Morong and Herm ...
. In 2012, controversy arose when a contracted shipping firm was accused of dumping toxic waste into Subic Bay. MT ''Glenn Guardian'', one of the vessels owned by a Malaysian firm, had collected of domestic waste and about of
bilge water The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (usu ...
from , a US Navy ship. Since the Malaysian firm was contracted by the US Navy, albeit with Philippine approval, the incident ignited anti-American sentiments in the Philippines from a militant group.


Pamulaklakin Nature Park

The Pamulaklakin Nature Park is a reserve area of Binictican. Part of the 11,000 hectares of forest is at Subic Bay. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority created the park to supplement the income of the indigenous people. The term "Pamulaklakin" derives from a word for an herbal vine in the native
Ambala language Ambala is a Sambalic language spoken in the Philippines. It has more than 2,000 speakers and is spoken within Aeta communities in the Zambal municipalities of Subic, San Marcelino, and Castillejos; in the city of Olongapo; and in Dinalupihan ...
.


Shipwrecks of Subic Bay

The majority of the wrecks in Subic Bay are a result of either the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
in 1898 or of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, when American aircraft sank a number of Japanese vessels. * ''
El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about from base to summit along its tal ...
'' (former USS ''Majaba'') was a freighter of nearly 3,000 tons just under long. In 1946, she sank in Subic Bay where she rests on a sloping bottom. *
Hell ship A hell ship is a ship with extremely inhumane living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army to transport Allied prisoners o ...
'' Oryoku Maru'': On 15 December 1944, she had 1,619 American, British and Czech
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
on board when she was sunk under heavy bombardment by American fighters while on her way from Subic Bay to Japan. She was less than half a kilometer off the Alava Pier when attacked. About 300 prisoners died during the short voyage from Manila and during the attack. * ''Seian Maru'': During an air raid on Subic Bay, the 3,712-ton freighter ''Seian Maru'' was bombed and sunk. This was only four days after the sinking of ''Oryoku Maru'' on 19 December 1944. *
Landing Ship, Tank Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...
'' LST-559'': She was scuttled in the middle of Subic Bay between the runway's southern tip and Grande Island. * The old , which had been renamed USS ''Rochester'' in 1917. At the onset of the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, this ship was acting as a floating workshop and storehouse. The decommissioned
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...
's armored hull was considered too valuable to allow Japanese forces to capture it, so American forces scuttled the ship in December 1941. * ''San Quentin'': During the Spanish–American War in 1898, the Spanish scuttled their ''San Quintín'' (now often called ''San Quentin'') in hopes of blocking the passage between Grande Island and Chiquita Islands near the mouth of Subic Bay. *'' USS Lanikai'', a
schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...
-rigged diesel powered yacht that served in the U.S. Navy during both
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
before being transferred to the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
. *Japanese auxiliary minesweeper '' Banshu Maru No. 52'' *Japanese subchaser ''Kyo Maru No. 11'' *Unidentified Japanese patrol boat: although some sources identify this wreck as the Japanese converted gunboat '' Aso Maru'', Japanese and American naval sources indicate that the ''Aso Maru'' was torpedoed and sunk on 9 May 1943 by the US submarine USS ''Gar'' off Negros Island's southwest coast.


See also

*
Port of Subic The Port of Subic Bay is in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the former U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, on Subic Bay in the Philippines. It is one of the busiest, largest, historical and most important of ports in the Philippines. The Port is operate ...
* Subic Bay International Airport *
Subic, Zambales Subic, officially the Municipality of Subic ( ilo, Ili ti Subic; tl, Bayan ng Subic), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,912 people. It is located alon ...


References


External links


The Official Tourism Website for Subic Bay, contains visitor and accommodation information (Authorized by SBMA)Official website of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (Govt)News Source
{{Authority control Bays of the Philippines Landforms of Zambales Landforms of Bataan Underwater diving sites in the Philippines Olongapo Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone