The ''Igara'' is a wreck off the East Coast of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

that sank on 12 March 197

At the time of her sinking, the ''Igara'' was the largest ever single

marine insurance Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

loss in maritime history. Valued at over US$25 million, she was loaded with 127,718 tonnes of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

Iron Ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

. The ''Igara'' was an Italian ore/oil steamship of . It was on voyage from Vitoria to

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of February 29, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 93,716, with 47,868 households and a population density of . The ...

when after passing through the

Sunda Strait The Sunda Strait ( id, Selat Sunda) is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean. Etymology The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the western portion o ...

, she struck an uncharted rock in 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 ...

about from

Horsburgh Lighthouse Horsburgh Lighthouse (Chinese: ; ms, Rumah Api Horsburgh; ta, ஹோர்ஸ்பர் கலங்கரை விளக்கம்) is an active lighthouse which marks the eastern entrance to the Straits of Singapore. It is situated on t ...

, off Mendarik Island, on 11 March 1973. However, she did not sink immediately but continued her voyage until her bow settled submerged and resting on the sea bottom in approx 40 metres of water about from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. She settled with her entire

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Or ...

section sticking out of the water. The following day 27 of the 38-man crew abandoned ship, being picked up in their lifeboats by passing vessels. The master and 10 crew stayed on board until 19 March, when she began to break across hold no. 1. Salvors used

explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

to cut through the ship at hold no. 1, and the entire rear section of the ship was towed to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, where a new forward section was attached and she was renamed the Eraclide

Subsequent salvage

ICRL (International Cargo Recoveries Limited), a BVI-based salvage management company, recognized the value of remaining iron ore cargo, contacted the insurers and acquired the legal rights to the ore and the salvage rights to the hull. In 2005–06 ICRL contracted Deep Water Recoveries (S) Pte Ltd (“DWR”) to recover the ore. DWR recovered all the ore accessible to big grabs (60,000 mt), and the operation grossed US$2.5 million

Recreational dive site

The ship now lies in around 40 m of water rising to 16 m at the top of the wreck. Despite only half the wreck remaining, this is a huge wreck with vast open cargo holds. The site is prone to very strong currents and occasional bad visibility. It is commonly frequented by Singapore-based liveaboards which stop for a dive or two on the way back to Singapore after a weekend diving in the South China Sea. The wreck was nicknamed the '

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

wreck' by divers due to a resident turtle although more recent reports suggest the turtle is no longer present. Three resident

nurse shark The nurse shark (''Ginglymostoma cirratum'') is an elasmobranch fish in the family Ginglymostomatidae. The conservation status of the nurse shark is globally assessed as Vulnerable in the IUCN List of Threatened Species. They are considered t ...

s are sometimes spotted in the storage rooms in the

. As of 2010, divers reported seeing a large nurse shark inside the rope room at the bow on nearly every dive. The wreck is overgrown with soft corals,

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throu ...

s and

hydroids Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish. Some hydroids such as the freshwater '' Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds ...

. Divers frequently see schools of

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which ...

s, snappers,

fusiliers Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in cont ...

angelfish Angelfish may refer to: *Several groups of fish: **Freshwater angelfish, tropical cichlids of the genus ''Pterophyllum'' **Marine angelfish of the family Pomacanthidae **Atlantic pomfret (''Brama brama''), sold by fishmongers as "angelfish" in Sou ...

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" ...

s, and batfish

Divers have also reported seeing a large and aggressive groupe

References

Igara entry on Rec N Tec wreck database

External links

Photo Gallery and diagram of wreckPhotos of the wreck
{{coord missing, Pacific Ocean Shipwrecks in the South China Sea Wreck diving sites Maritime incidents in 1973