The Futagami was a large salvage tug, and was launched in 1939. She carried salvage derricks, as well as pumps and hoses.
She was involved in the unsuccessful attempts to raise the I-169 submarine, which we had dived earlier in the day.
Her sinking seems to be a bit of a mystery, and it may well be that she was scuttled towards the end of the war, perhaps to prevent the Americans taking her over.
We did this at about 5:30 pm as a dusk dive. Dropping in as it was starting to go dark. The stern was in less than 10 metres, and she angles down a slope with her bow at about 30 metres. We started at the stern and swam forwards past the towline tube just aft of the superstructure. Further on was something that looked a bit like a huge bucket, which housed an anti-aircraft gun. There was one on either side. We went past the bridge which has an intact telegraph inside, before having a look at the crew quarters which are near the bow. Heading back past the bridge again, we had a look into the very tight engine room, and finished up in the aft hold, where the thick salvage hose was stored.
This was another very enjoyable dive.
Futagami Fleet Tug
- Displacement: 625 tons
- Length: 131 feet
- Beam: 32 feet
- Engine: 2 coal/oil fired engines
- Depth: 10 – 30 m.
Our Dive
- Depth: 25.5 m.
- Time: 43 minutes
- Gas: Nitrox 32
Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.
