Si Amil Island

Si Amil ( Mal. Pulau Si Amil ) is an island belonging to Malaysia in the Celebes Sea. It is located about 35 kilometers southeast of Semporna and 100 kilometers east of Tawau off the east coast of Borneo.

Description

The approximately 0.55 square kilometer island extends over a length of one kilometer and is up to 900 meters wide. On the island there is a steep hill of 98 m height, on the 1952 11 m high lighthouse was built rises. [Note 1] The wooded island is uninhabited, but is populated during the day of diving athletes. In addition, the Malaysian Navy maintains a station on the island.

Pulau Si Amil belongs together with the islands of Pulau Danawan, Pulau Kapalai, Pulau Mabul, Pulau Sipadan Pulau Ligitan and the so-called " Ligitan Group".

History

1918 explored the Japanese officer Lt. Col. Ichiji Orita the fishing grounds off Tawau. Orita, who was also with the Mitsubishi Group, in close connection, founded in 1927 in Tawau Borneo Fisheries Company and laid the foundation stone for a fish cannery on Pulau Si Amil. The factory started with a staff of 70 Japanese workers who kayu the Ikan, a local of tuna, processed. Until the beginning of the occupation of Borneo by the Japanese troops, the number of employees had grown on the island to 308. Today, on the island only remnants of the former factories. Parts of the archaeological site to be used by the naval base.

Diving

Directly in front of the island lies the wreck of an old steam ship. On the east side of the ocean floor several hundred meters water depth in the channel Alice falls that connects the Darvel Bay with the Sibuko Bay. The diving area is partly because of the - known bamboo sharks - usually emerging at night.