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Addu Atoll (local administrative name Seenu Atoll) is the southernmost atoll of the Republic of Maldives. Only six of the islands in the Atoll are inhabited and they are Meedhoo, Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Gan, and Hulhudhoo with the total population just over 28,000.
The dialect of the Dhivehi language spoken in this atoll is very different from the rest of the country. Most of the employees who had experience working for westerners and who spoke good English had turned to the tourism industry for employment. As a result, there was an influx of Addu people to Malé seeking employment in the nearby resorts and also looking for education to their children
British naval base
The Royal Navy established a base ("Port T") - later RAF Gan from 1957 - on the island of Gan (pronounced “Yahn”) in 1941, during World War II. During the Cold War it was used as an outpost.
The original naval base was established as a fall-back for the British Eastern Fleet. Despite public pronouncements to the contrary, the official view was that the main base at Singapore would be untenable if the Japanese made serious headway in Malaya and Java - which, in the event, is what happened in 1942. The intention had been to operate from Trincomalee, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Upon inspection, however, the naval commander-in-chief, Admiral James Somerville found the port inadequate, vulnerable to a determined attack and open to spying. An isolated island base with a safe, deep anchorage in a suitably strategic position was required, and Addu met the requirements. Once available, its facilities were used extensively by the Fleet.
Royal Navy engineers landed in August 1941 from HMS Guardian to clear and construct airstrips on Gan for the Fleet Air Arm. In the interim, Catalina and Sunderland flying boats operated from jetties on the northern, sheltered side of Gan. Large oil tanks were built on Gan, and on Hitaddu Island on the western edge of the atoll; vital elements for a naval base. These were visible from a long distances at sea, but this was unavoidable, given the atoll's low profile.
Ship's supplies for the fleet were provided from a pair of Australian refrigerated ships, Changte and Taiping that included Attu in a number of bases that they serviced regularly. Three times these ships replenished forty or more ships of the Eastern Fleet. Several large Australian Imperial Force troop convoys also refueled at Addu on their way from Aden to Fremantle, Western Australia.
The six major islands were garrisoned by the 1st Royal Marine Coast Defence Regiment, manning shore batteries and anti-aircraft guns. To facilitate the defence, causeways were built connecting the western islands of Gan, Eyehook, Maradhoo and Hithadhoo and, much later in the war, they were linked by a light railway. Attu was an unpopular posting due to the hot, humid climate, lack of recreational facilities and lack of socialising with the local population.
The Japanese remained unaware of the base’s existence until their plans for expansion in south-east Asia had come to nothing, even during their carrier raids in the Indian Ocean in April 1942. Later in the war, submarine reconnaissance established the base’s existence. Despite openings into the lagoon being permanently closed by anti-submarine nets, the German U-boat U-183 torpedoed the tanker British Loyalty in March 1944 (she had been previously torpedoed and sunk at Diego Suarez); it was an impressive long-range shot from outside the atoll through a gap in the anti-torpedo nets. Although seriously damaged, the tanker did not sink. She was not fully repaired but kept as a Ministry of War Transport Oil Fuel Storage Vessel. There was significant oil pollution after this incident and British personnel were used to clean the lagoon.
On 5th January 1946, British Loyalty was scuttled southeast of Hithadhoo Island in the Addu Atoll lagoon. After some years of leaking oil, she has become a popular dive location.
In 1957, the naval base was transferred to the Royal Air Force. As RAF Gan, it remained in intermittent service until 1971, when British Forces withdrew.
Addu Kandu
This is the local name for the broad channel between Huvadu Atoll and Addu Atoll. The old French maps called it 'Courant d'Addoue' and it is known in the British Admiralty Charts as 'Equatorial Channel' for the Equator lies roughly in the middle of the Addu Kandu.
Atoll Summary
Administrative name Seenu Atoll
Atoll name Addu Atoll
Location 0° 36' S and 0° 44' S
Letter S
Abbreviation S (ސ)
Capital Hithadhoo
Population 28707
No. of Islands 23
Inhabited Islands 6
Atoll Chief Hussain Saeed [1]
Inhabited Islands
Feydhoo Hithadhoo Hulhudhoo Maradhoo Maradhoo-Feydhoo Meedhoo
Uninhabited Islands
Aboohéra Bodu Hajara Boduhéragandu Dhigihéra Fahikédéhérangada Gan Gaukendi Geskalhuhéra Hankedé Hankedé Hajara Heréthéré Hikihéra Kafathalhaa Héra Kandu Huraa Kédévaahéra Koahera Kuda Kandihéréganda Maahera Maamendhoo Madihéra Mulikédé Savaaheli Vashahéra Villingili
Addu Atoll (local administrative name Seenu Atoll) is the southernmost atoll of the Republic of Maldives. Only six of the islands in the Atoll are inhabited and they are Meedhoo, Hithadhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Gan, and Hulhudhoo with the total population just over 28,000.
The dialect of the Dhivehi language spoken in this atoll is very different from the rest of the country. Most of the employees who had experience working for westerners and who spoke good English had turned to the tourism industry for employment. As a result, there was an influx of Addu people to Malé seeking employment in the nearby resorts and also looking for education to their children
British naval base
The Royal Navy established a base ("Port T") - later RAF Gan from 1957 - on the island of Gan (pronounced “Yahn”) in 1941, during World War II. During the Cold War it was used as an outpost.
The original naval base was established as a fall-back for the British Eastern Fleet. Despite public pronouncements to the contrary, the official view was that the main base at Singapore would be untenable if the Japanese made serious headway in Malaya and Java - which, in the event, is what happened in 1942. The intention had been to operate from Trincomalee, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Upon inspection, however, the naval commander-in-chief, Admiral James Somerville found the port inadequate, vulnerable to a determined attack and open to spying. An isolated island base with a safe, deep anchorage in a suitably strategic position was required, and Addu met the requirements. Once available, its facilities were used extensively by the Fleet.
Royal Navy engineers landed in August 1941 from HMS Guardian to clear and construct airstrips on Gan for the Fleet Air Arm. In the interim, Catalina and Sunderland flying boats operated from jetties on the northern, sheltered side of Gan. Large oil tanks were built on Gan, and on Hitaddu Island on the western edge of the atoll; vital elements for a naval base. These were visible from a long distances at sea, but this was unavoidable, given the atoll's low profile.
Ship's supplies for the fleet were provided from a pair of Australian refrigerated ships, Changte and Taiping that included Attu in a number of bases that they serviced regularly. Three times these ships replenished forty or more ships of the Eastern Fleet. Several large Australian Imperial Force troop convoys also refueled at Addu on their way from Aden to Fremantle, Western Australia.
The six major islands were garrisoned by the 1st Royal Marine Coast Defence Regiment, manning shore batteries and anti-aircraft guns. To facilitate the defence, causeways were built connecting the western islands of Gan, Eyehook, Maradhoo and Hithadhoo and, much later in the war, they were linked by a light railway. Attu was an unpopular posting due to the hot, humid climate, lack of recreational facilities and lack of socialising with the local population.
The Japanese remained unaware of the base’s existence until their plans for expansion in south-east Asia had come to nothing, even during their carrier raids in the Indian Ocean in April 1942. Later in the war, submarine reconnaissance established the base’s existence. Despite openings into the lagoon being permanently closed by anti-submarine nets, the German U-boat U-183 torpedoed the tanker British Loyalty in March 1944 (she had been previously torpedoed and sunk at Diego Suarez); it was an impressive long-range shot from outside the atoll through a gap in the anti-torpedo nets. Although seriously damaged, the tanker did not sink. She was not fully repaired but kept as a Ministry of War Transport Oil Fuel Storage Vessel. There was significant oil pollution after this incident and British personnel were used to clean the lagoon.
On 5th January 1946, British Loyalty was scuttled southeast of Hithadhoo Island in the Addu Atoll lagoon. After some years of leaking oil, she has become a popular dive location.
In 1957, the naval base was transferred to the Royal Air Force. As RAF Gan, it remained in intermittent service until 1971, when British Forces withdrew.
Addu Kandu
This is the local name for the broad channel between Huvadu Atoll and Addu Atoll. The old French maps called it 'Courant d'Addoue' and it is known in the British Admiralty Charts as 'Equatorial Channel' for the Equator lies roughly in the middle of the Addu Kandu.
Atoll Summary
Administrative name Seenu Atoll
Atoll name Addu Atoll
Location 0° 36' S and 0° 44' S
Letter S
Abbreviation S (ސ)
Capital Hithadhoo
Population 28707
No. of Islands 23
Inhabited Islands 6
Atoll Chief Hussain Saeed [1]
Inhabited Islands
Feydhoo Hithadhoo Hulhudhoo Maradhoo Maradhoo-Feydhoo Meedhoo
Uninhabited Islands
Aboohéra Bodu Hajara Boduhéragandu Dhigihéra Fahikédéhérangada Gan Gaukendi Geskalhuhéra Hankedé Hankedé Hajara Heréthéré Hikihéra Kafathalhaa Héra Kandu Huraa Kédévaahéra Koahera Kuda Kandihéréganda Maahera Maamendhoo Madihéra Mulikédé Savaaheli Vashahéra Villingili
Labels: atoll, Atolls of the Maldives, maldiv, maldives, maldives island, Seenu Atoll
