Scuba Diving in Ss Duke Of Sparta, Ambon

Description

The vessel resting in Ambon Bay is the Duke of Sparta, launched in 1940 from the William Gray shipyard, West Hartlepool. Sold in 1951 to an Italian company from Naples, she was renamed SS Aquila.

Bombed by the Americans during Operation Haik, against the communist rebellions in Indonesia, on 28 April 1958, she was anchored and in ballast, she sank on the 27 May 1958.

It is 137 meters long and 17 meters high, and the hull is huge.The entire shipwreck is complete, the steepest part of the stern, about 13 meters deep, the bow deck is about 30 meters deep and the bottom is about 35 meters deep. After 50 years under water, it is covered by corals. As with most of the wrecks, the visibility here is usually not very good, and in the right tide, it is sometimes good.