Discover the incredible story behind one of the best shore-accessible wreck dives in the world and Reef Smart’s mission to map the wreck in 3D in collaboration with the Vanuatu Tourism Authority.
Next week, a team from Reef Smart Guides will head to Vanuatu to map many of the South Pacific archipelago’s incredible wrecks. Chief among them is the SS President Coolidge – a 650-foot-long (198-meter) luxury ocean liner that was used as a troop transport ship in WWII.
According to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the President Coolidge is the largest, most accessible wreck dive in the world, and contains a unique combination of features belonging to its dual function as a luxury passenger liner and a military vessel, ranging from fine furnishings and décor to military hardware and equipment. The wreck hosts incredible marine life, including giant morays, grouper, barracuda, sea turtles, reef sharks, lionfish and octopuses and also has a remarkable story!
The SS President Coolidge was built in 1931 for Dollar Steamship Lines and initially operated out of San Francisco, taking holiday makers to the Pacific islands and the Far East. When WWII reached the Pacific, the Coolidge was pressed into service carrying troops from Hawaii to Manila.
On October 26, 1942, the ship attempted to enter the harbor at Espiritu Santu, one of Vanuatu’s largest islands, to deliver the 172nd infantry regiment for the defense of the American airfield located there. Unfortunately, the instructions for safe approach neglected to mention the American mines placed in the channel to help protect the base. By the time word reached the captain about the mines, it was too late. The Coolidge was struck first by a mine close to the engine room with a second mine striking close to the stern.
Hoping to save the contents of the ship for salvage, Captain Henry Nelson tried to run the ship aground but the fringing coral reef surrounding the island prevented her from being fully beached. However, over 5,000 soldiers and crew were still able to calmly evacuate the ship, many by climbing down ropes laid along the hull of the heavily listing ship.
Miraculously, only two lives were lost in the sinking. The first was Robert Reid, a Fireman, who died in the engine room shortly after the first mine exploded. The second was Elwood Joseph Euart, a captain in the 103rd Field Artillery Regiment, who became trapped while rescuing his shipmates and went down with the ship. His body was recovered by divers in 2014.
Eventually, The Coolidge began to slide back into the ocean, stern first, settling on the reef slope on its port side. Today the bow of the wreck lies at around 70 feet (21 meters), the shallowest point, with the stern sitting at more than 250 feet (76 meters). Divers entering the shore can walk out across the shallow reef flats but then face a relatively short swim out to the bow of the wreck.
Reef Smart is excited to explore and 3D-map the ship using photogrammetry in collaboration with the Vanuatu Tourism Office and with the support of local dive operators Aore Adventure Sports & Lodge, Pacific Dive and Allan Power Dive Tours. Stay tuned for your chance to explore this incredible wreck from the comfort of your own home, while also getting to see a sample of the amazing diving available in Vanuatu!
