Ranongga WW II Wreck
Submitted by Moffat Mamu on 4 May, 2007 - 11:30am. Nation

A THREE-man team from the Solomon Islands Police Force Explosive Ordinance Division (SIPF EOD) and a Participating Police Force (PPF) advisor have located a World War II wreck containing unexploded ordnances at Ranongga Island in Western Province. The SIPF EOD team and the PPF advisor were dispatched to Ranongga Island to investigate reports of the discovery of a WWII torpedo boat following the earthquake on April 2.

But instead of discovering a torpedo boat, the team located a badly deteriorated wooden vessel which is more than fifteen metres long. The wreck is embedded in a reef which rose more than four metres during the recent earthquake.

Located in the hull of the vessel were a number of heavily corroded Japanese projectiles including 75 millimetre and 90 millimetre unexploded ordnances. The boat may have been used by Japanese forces to ferry munitions during the Second World War.

The SIPF EOD team will conduct a more detailed search around the vessel to ascertain if there are more dangerous projectiles in the immediate area. This will include an underwater search. The SIPF is concerned by reports that locals may have removed a number of unexploded ordnances. The SIPF reminds all Solomon Islanders that these devices are extremely dangerous and could result in serious injury or death.