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(Phuket, Southern Thailand)
Depth 70meters ; Trimix diving only
"The last British Royal Naval vessel sunk during
WWII"
Details of Sinking:-
The HMS Vestal, an Algerine class minesweeper was hit
by a Japanese kamikaze plane during the closing days of WWII, the Vestal
was extensively damaged and was deemed unrepairable. Due to it's
closeness to Japanese held territory (Thailand), the crew were taken off, and
the vessel was destroyed & scuttled to prevent it falling from into enemy hands.
Discovery of the wreck:-
As with many shipwrecks lost far out at sea during WWII, the precise location
of the HMS Vestal either through reasons of disinformation or navigational
uncertainty was unknown. The best positional accuracy that can be hoped from
historic records of this time be a square mile box and thus it was up to modern
tech divers to 'liaise' with local fishermen (for 'liaise' read 'get them
copiously drunk and release them of their GPS net snag notebook') so as to get a
good spread of net snag marks in the rough location where the HMS Vestal was
known to be.
notes:- All local fishermen carrying out trawling operations keep hundreds of
records of underwater 'net snag marks' . The majority of the marks are simply
underwater rocky outcrops, However, occasionally when the net is pulled free
from the snag point, bits of shipwreck come up with the net revealing the nature
of the underwater obstruction.
Thus it was with the HMS Vestal, when many years a go a local Thai fisherman
reported to a couple of French guys living in rented bungalows opposite the Kata
post office that his net kept bringing up shipwreck debris at two separate
locations that later proved to be the HMS vestal and the SS Petalin.
The HMS Petalin is recorded as being dived on air since as early as 2001 by
Laurent Lefebvre and
Ben Reymenants, however it was
up to commercial diver Fred Evans and technical diver friends Joerg & Andreas
from Deep Blue Diving in Phuket to formally investigate the net snag mark later
identified as the HMS Vestal, using Trimix diving techniques during 2004
 
Restored HMS Vestal artifacts from the debris field such as
shell cases and portholes confirmed the wrecks British origin
For more pictures of the HMS Vestal shipwreck follow
this link Deep Blue Divers, Phuket
Other British Navy Warships nearby
The Vestal's sister ship the HMS Squirrel also sank
nearby in around 95meters of water, together with 2 British Minisubs involved on a clandestine attack
on Phuket Harbor, rumored to be resting in the silty mud somewhere.
The British Admiralty's database reveals the following info
for Minesweepers including requisitioned sunk in the Phuket
Area:- HMS VESTAL (940ton, 10/9/43) Sunk by aircraft, off
Phuket, Siam (Thailand) 26 July 1945
HMS SQUIRREL (940ton, 16/8/44 Damaged by mine off
Phuket, Siam (Thailand). Sunk by own forces, 24 Jul 1945
For information on other vessels in the Algerine Class
Minesweepers follow these links
http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/algerine.htm
http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/old-portsmouth/algerine.htm
for more information on British Forces shipping Losses follow
this link
http://www.naval-history.net/WW2BritishLosses1Major.htm
Wrecks details
The wreck lies upright on the bottom in 72 meters of water on
a sandy seabed. As is common for this area, much of the wreck is covered in
fishing nets and rope, making entanglement a problem especially for technical
divers wearing 4 tanks. Divers report finding explosive ordinance present on the
wreck, so don't touch anything
More underwater images of the HMS vestal are given here
http://www.histarmar.com.ar/HYAMNEWS/HojaInformativa/HojaInf41.htm
GPS Location:-
Near Phuket WGS84 N07' 41.530" E098'
15.560"
Last dived by:-
Fred Evans and Friends
Joerg & Andreas who run Deep Blue Divers, Phuket | 
