Vulnerability Assessment of USS Houston:
A World War II Historic Shipwreck from the Battle of Sunda Strait

Vulnerability Assessment of USS Houston:
A World War II Historic Shipwreck from the Battle of Sunda Strait

Sea battles between the Allies and the Japanese Navy Fleet during World War II in Indonesian waters left many physical evidences in the form of shipwrecks. One of the most well-known naval battles in the history of World War II in Asia Pacific is the Battle of Sunda Strait which caused the sinking of USS Houston and HMAS Perth along with a number of their crews in 1942. The assessment activities conducted by Research Institute for Coastal Resources and Vulnerability in 2018 show that the American heavy cruiser, USS Houston, is currently prone to various disturbances. USS Houston shipwreck site is located at 15-30 meters deep near Panjang Island in Banten Bay. Site location is influenced by sediment input from the surrounding plateau. The number of river mouths and hydrodynamic conditions of Banten Bay with its strong currents also play a role in sediment transport process which affects the visibility and transport of pollutants and marine debris found on site. Other problems include dense industrial areas in the mainland around the site, sea sand mining activities, bustling sealane activities, warships metal scavenging, and a high intensity of marine spatial utilization by local fishers regarding capture fisheries and aquaculture. All of the above conditions need to be taken into consideration for the protection and preservation of USS Houston site which is also a War Graveyard. Its future site development needs to be in line with the interests of the local fishing communities who have been utilizing the marine space at USS Houston area since long ago.

Wisnu Arya Gemilang

Nia Naelul Hasanah Ridwan

Ulung Jantama Wisha

Guntur Adhi Rahmawan

The Museum of Underwater Archaeology

November 2021

English

Gemilang, Wisnu Arya, Nia Naelul Hasanah Ridwan, Ulung Jantama Wisha, and Guntur Adhi Rahmawan. 2021.
“Vulnerability Assessment of USS Houston: A World War II Historic Shipwreck from the Battle of Sunda Strait.”
Edited by Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia
Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021.
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL: https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/684

Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage