Tama Maru
Japanese forces landed in the Solomon Islands at Tulagi on the 2nd and 3rd May 1942. On the 4th May, aircraft from the USS Yorktown attacked the Japanese at Tulagi and surrounding area. During these raids the converted minesweeper, the Tama Maru, was sunk near Buena Vista Island. Buena Vista is at the western end of the Ngella Islands.
The Tama lies in 68-75m water, visibility is normally awesome, 40-50m average. There are many artefacts on this wreck - lanterns in the rear hold and hemi-spherical mines mid-ships - if you tire of this then the fish life will enthral. This site is not dived much these days as on-going difficulties with the landowners means the tourists are not always welcome. The site is also a long way from either of our normal bases and if it is to be dived then good forward planning is need to ensure there are no “kastom” problems on arrival.
Due to its depth this site is for the very advanced diver.