Dive site
Chuuk Lagoon (Truk)
Caroline Islands, Micronesia
- Typical depth
- 35 m
- Type
- Wreck
- Level
- Advanced
Notes
Japanese WWII fleet sunk by Operation Hailstone, Feb 1944.
Marine life
- Macro
- nudibranchs, crocodilefish
- Sharks
- grey reef shark (outside lagoon), whitetip reef shark
- Pelagics
- barracuda, jacks
- Reef fish
- lionfish, batfish, snapper, grouper
- Invertebrates
- coral and sponge encrusted holds, anemones on superstructure
Wreck
- Vessel
- Fujikawa Maru (most-dived hull; lagoon holds ~40 wrecks)
- Class
- refrigerated cargo ship, requisitioned as auxiliary armed aircraft transport/ferry
- Origin
- Empire of Japan
- Sunk
- 1944 — hit by US carrier bombers and torpedo bombers during Operation Hailstone, 17–18 Feb 1944; sank ~07:15 on 18 Feb
- Length
- 133 m
- Penetration
- Possible — with training
Site features
- Wreck Graveyard
- Penetration
- War Grave
- Artefacts In Situ
- Liveaboard Typical
- Overhead Environment
When to dive
- Best
- Dec–Apr
- Avoid
- Jul–Sep
Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon holds the wrecks of the Japanese Combined Fleet sunk during Operation Hailstone, 17–18 Feb 1944 — roughly 40 vessels (2 light cruisers, 4 destroyers, ~32 merchants and auxiliaries) and 250+ aircraft on the lagoon floor. Dry season (Dec–Apr) brings the calmest crossings; rainy season (Jul–Sep) drops viz. The entire lagoon is a designated war grave — undisturbed-remains protocol applies; recreational penetration permitted on most hulls but artefact removal is forbidden.
Conditions & access
- Visibility
- 15–30 m
- Water temp
- 27–30 °C
- Current
- Mild
- Access
- Permit required
- Min cert
- Advanced Open Water + Nitrox; wreck specialty for penetration; Tec for the deeper hulls (San Francisco Maru, 50–60 m)
Location
7.4167° N, 151.7833° E
Sources
Curated from 2 sources
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