artifishal productions - Films, Commercials, Stock Footage & Underwater Imagery. Philippines & Asia-Pacific.

"DSV Discovery" Survey,

Philippines, April 2002

DSV Discovery

Operating in cooperation with the National Museum of the Philippines, she is fully equipped for search and recovery of old sunken ships and galeons as well as their freight.

Because she holds a decompression chamber, the Dicovery is designated as DSV (Diving Support Vessel).

The Discovery's "operations center". From this room divers are supplied with air; remote operated vehicles (ROV) are controlled; results from sonar and magnetometer evaluated...

Before every dive an extensive briefing is held. Every minute underwater is valuable because diving time is limited. Thus every detail must be discussed precisely beforehand. For example: using air we can only spend 22 minutes at a depth of 45 meters.

The equipment - double tanks, metal detectors, scooters - are prepared...

...and thoroughly checked and tested prior to every dive.

Depending on the situation dives can take place from one of the support dingys or the Discovery itself.

80 meters below the surface a diver scans the area. According to locals a wreck is to be found here.

First footage of the Japanese war ship "Kinu".

Two of its guns can be seen on this still picture.

At another dive site - in shallower water - a diver walks along the bottom using a metal detector.

When the detector locates metal, the divers start digging to determine the cause.

At other sites visibility can be of poorest quality due to muddy bottom composition...

...Bad visibility considerably complicates working - and also filming.

Information about possibly interesting sites is obtained mainly through extensive research - but also through contact with the local population on remote islands.

A local diver points at a piece of porcelain in a book, resembling a piece that he found a few years ago. He is willing to show us the location at which he discovered the item.

Hookah divers bite on a hose, which is supplied with air from a compressor on their boat. Sitting in the middle of the picture - Ingo - the one-armed Hookah diver who will place a buoy for us at the site in 65 meters depth.

The site is littered with jars and containers.

These are measured, photographed and filmed, but left to lie on the sea bed. Exceptionally, one item might be brought to the surface, to be sent to the National Museum for evaluation. It is then the Museum that decides whether or not the site should be excavated.

Using scooters (yellow in the middle of this picture) is a by far more efficient method of removing a layer of sand from objects than by hand.

A diver has discovered a canon. Now it is at least clear that this is no modern ship. Because this was once a wooden vessel, most of it has decomposed and been eaten by worms. However, interesting parts and objects may still be found beneath the sand.

The "Airlift" is prepared. This apparatus works like a huge vacuum cleaner and enables the diving teams to search and dig at a deeper level.

Using the Airlift a diver sucks a hole into the ground near the canon.

Of course, this 8 meter high suction device is easier to handle with more than only one diver. Every diving minute counts and every move must be precise.

Divers must continuously be aware of harmful marine animals. In this case a concentrated diver is closely approaching a stubborn lion fish...

...and at this "hit" the divers have not yet discovered the large moray eel, which is feeling quite threatened directly below them.

The majority of time underwater is spent decompressing in shallow depths after working on the bottom.

In some cases decompression can take over two hours...

...and one might fall asleep.

A recovered artefact.

A spanish coin dated 1786.