The Remains of HMS Tamar Lie Buried Beneath the Central–Wan Chai Bypass

In 2009, the Legislative Council approved the construction of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass, a 4-kilometre (2.5-mile) road connecting the shorelines of Sheung Wan and Fortress Hill on northern Hong Kong Island.

As excavation progressed in late 2014, construction workers discovered a 40-by-11-metre metal object buried under five metres (15 feet) of mud. Rumours quickly surfaced that this wreckage belonged to HMS Tamar. The iconic troopship served as the Royal Navy’s base in Hong Kong from 1 October 1897 until 12 December 1941, when she was scuttled in Victoria Harbour to prevent capture by advancing Japanese forces.

After the ship had rested at the bottom of the harbour for 73 years, workers believed they had finally located her remains, even though the Hong Kong government firmly maintained that the wreckage was not HMS Tamar. However, a September 2015 report presented strong evidence suggesting that the remains discovered beneath the Central-Wan Chai Bypass do, in fact, belong to HMS Tamar.

In June 2015, the government relocated the remains of HMS Tamar roughly 100 metres north of its original position. This was done to protect the artifact from damage while allowing the bypass construction and land reclamation to continue.