An international expedition led by the Ocean Exploration Trust and partners, including NOAA and the Naval History and Heritage Command, has confirmed the discovery of the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Teruzuki—lying wrecked at a depth of over 800 metres in Iron Bottom Sound, Solomon Islands.
Building on the outstanding reputation of their Solomon Islands-based liveaboard, Emperor Bilikiki, the new dive centre delivers the same high-quality service for guests looking to explore the spectacular waters of the world-renowned Iron Bottom Sound through daily diving.
After more than 30 years of running world-class dive centres in Egypt, this marks an exciting new chapter as Emperor brings its daily diving expertise to one of the most remote and rewarding destinations on Earth.
(Top photo by Manu San Félix, National Geographic Pristine Seas, via press release)
The monumental coral, of the species Pavona clavus, was discovered by researchers of the National Geographic Pristine Seas project during an expedition to the remote Three Sisters Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Initially mistaken for a shipwreck or large rock due to its size, the structure was confirmed to be a single coral colony, surpassing previous records for individual corals.
The arrangement will see Emperor promote its new partner to a more global audience using its large customer base and strong market reputation as well as incorporating some of the operational and development work.
Bilikiki is a long-established and highly-regarded company that have delivered wonderful diving experiences to their guests in the Solomon Islands since the 1980s. As one of the only companies to operate in this region, they are undoubted experts in providing top-quality holidays to their guests in this part of the world.
The Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific region of Melanesia, offer divers a plethora of underwater experiences, from pristine coral reefs to World War II wrecks. Matthew Meier tells of his return to this island oasis, where remnants of the islands’ military history can be viewed on land and under the sea.
The past 2 weeks, we saw the awesome launch of Phase 2 of our Youth Sponsorship Program.
We want to thank our fabulous sponsors below for creating these awesome opportunities for our youth!
Marie Blevin & Dario Accoto;
David Strassman
Noboro Yamabe
Shane MacKay
Bruce Wynia
Michael Gaumann
The Research Vessel R/V Petrel’s autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) first identified the ship in its side scan sonar on March 17. Upon analysis of the sonar data, the Petrel crew deployed its remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) on March 18 to verify the wreckage through its video capabilities.
In case you missed the awesome news, with your help and support we were able to train 105 local Solomon Island Youth (60% female) by the end of Jan, 2021!
On 14 January 2019, the wreck of USS Wasp was located by the research vessel Petrel. The carrier sits upright in 4,345 meters (14,255 feet) of water, though parts of the hull appear to have split.
Like a series of random punctuation marks, the many islands of the Solomons archipelago lay along the southern section of the Pacific Ring of Fire, in between the countries of Papua New Guinea to the north, and Vanuatu to the south.
