Scuba Diving Million Dollar Point, Vanuatu (HD)

This massive underwater dump just off the coast of Espíritu Santo, an island in the Vanuatu archipelago of the South Western Pacific is called Million Dollar Point, after the millions of dollars worth of material disposed here, the dump is a popular diving destination, an amazing quantity of wreckage: jeeps, six-wheel drive trucks, bulldozers, semi-trailers, fork lifts, tractors, bound sheets of corrugated iron, unopened boxes of clothing, and cases of Coca-Cola.

The Americans during WWII had a base here to launch their attacks on the Japanese in the Pacific. On their departure from the island they left behind infrastructure like roads and runways, and even buildings, with army built Quonset huts still standing around Santo. The biggest legacy is Million Dollar Point, both historically fascinating, but environmentally destructive.

The Franco-British Condominium who ruled Vanuatu (then known as the New Hebrides) thought they had the Americans over a barrel as the time for their departure neared at the end of the war. The American bases were full of vehicles, furniture, clothing, food, drink and all that had been required to sustain the troops. A decision had been taken that this was not going to be repatriated, and that the Condominium could buy it all at rock bottom prices. Unfortunately the British and French got greedy, refusing an offer to pay 6 cents in the dollar for everything, thinking they would eventually get it for nothing.

The Americans not impressed with this came up with another option in a moment of madness. They took all the vehicles, food, clothing and other equipment to a wharf on the south side of Santo. The army drove the vehicles into the sea, and then used bulldozers to dump the rest over the end of the wharf, before they also were driven into the sea. Millions of dollars of goods were destroyed over a period of two days, contaminating the sea with fuel, rubber, metal and Coca Cola. What the locals would have thought watching this wasteful destruction would be hard to understand, although quite rightly they looted what they could when the Americans had left.

It’s an amazing dive and part of history; however, it’s difficult to think that someone decided to do this on an island where the beaches are breathtaking. Greed and politics…

Music: http://www.purple-planet.com