A 21,936 ton luxury liner turned troopship, 615 feet long, lying on her side off Espiritu Santo where you can swim to her. On 26 October 1942 Captain Henry Nelson, worried about Japanese submarines and not told about the friendly minefield, brought her in through the obvious channel. She struck a mine near the engine room, hit a second near the stern moments later, and he ran her aground; almost everyone got off. She slid back down the slope. The bow now sits at 21 metres and the stern at 73, and she is largely intact, holds, decks, military equipment and the fittings of a passenger ship still in place. With care and proper stops a recreational diver can see a great deal of her without technical gear. Protected from salvage since 1983.
Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
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