Koh Chang & Koh Rang · Thailand · Wreck · Artificial reef
HTMS Chang Wreck
Whale sharks around the hull between January and April
Photo: Varakorn Kuldilok · CC BY-SA 3.0
The HTMS Chang is a 100 m former US Navy tank landing ship that the Thai Navy scuttled off Koh Chang in November 2012 to make an artificial reef for scuba diving. It is the largest recreational wreck dive in the Gulf of Thailand, and the hull now holds schools of barracuda, trevally and snapper, with the occasional whale shark.
Also known as HTMS Chang, USS Lincoln County.
Where it is and how deep
11.8941° N, 102.2581° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck rests on a seabed of about 30 m, but the captain's cabin and the mast rise to around 12 m, so a dive can start high on the superstructure before dropping to the deck at about 25 m. Barracuda, grouper, squid, octopus and a mass of reef fish have moved into the ship since it went down, and whale sharks are most likely around it from January to April.
The wreck
- Vessel
- HTMS Chang (ex-USS Lincoln County)
- Type
- LST-542-class tank landing ship
- Length
- 100 m (328 ft)
- Sunk
- 2012
- Cause
- Scuttled by the Thai Navy as an artificial reef for scuba diving
- Lies
- In 30 m of water, with the captain's cabin and mast around 12 m deep
Built for the United States Navy during the Second World War as USS Lincoln County, an LST-542-class tank landing ship, the vessel later served the Thai Navy as HTMS Chang. On 22 November 2012 the navy scuttled it near Koh Chang in Trat Province to make an artificial reef for scuba diving, and at 100 m it is now the largest recreational wreck in the Gulf of Thailand.
Marine life and season
- Whale sharks
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Groupers
- Squid
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Koh Chang & Koh Rang: Diving runs year-round; November to May brings calm seas and the clearest water, and the June to October monsoon brings wind, waves and lower visibility.
Photos from HTMS Chang Wreck
Kitfretz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Scuba diving the HTMS Chang Wreck, Ko Chang, Thailand · pattayascuba on YouTube
Wreck penetrations of the HTMS Chang, Ko Chang, Thailand · Thai Scuba on YouTube
Sources
- HTMS Chang Wreck — ScubaGo
- Scuba diving Koh Chang — I am Koh Chang
- HTMS Chang (712) / USS Lincoln County — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- A dense school of yellow-striped fish and a few dark fish swirling around the pillars and deck of a sunken ship by Varakorn Kuldilok, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- One silver barracuda with a yellow tail swimming above the railing and superstructure of a wreck in green-blue water by Kitfretz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Koh Chang & Koh Rang
Pinnacle
A coral-capped pinnacle top only about 3 m below the surface
Pinnacle
A rock pile off Koh Rang that almost breaks the surface
Pinnacle
A cluster of coral-covered rock pinnacles, among Koh Chang's main dives
Pinnacle
Staghorn coral and swarms of small reef fish on a shallow rock
Pinnacle
A small pinnacle beside Blueberry Hill and Hin Rap
Reef
Turtles and stingrays over shallow hard coral
Three rock pinnacles rising together from the seabed
Similar dives elsewhere
US-built landing ship, scuttled as an artificial reef in 2006
Upright navy wreck, superstructure at 18 m, keel at 30 m
Small wrecks and concrete cubes in one calm bay, with batfish in the hulls
Goliath grouper inside a 56 m hull that sank under tow in 1985, upright at 27 m