DiveTwin
Dive site

Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia

Nippo Maru

Typical depth

47m

Type
Wreck
Typical depth
47 m
Level
Technical
Visibility
15–30 m
Water temp
28–30 °C
Current
Mild
Access
Open access
Min cert
Deep + wreck specialty for the deck dive; trimix recommended for any meaningful bottom time around the holds and engine room. Bridge area is intact and penetrable for trained wreck divers.
  • Wreck
  • Penetration
  • Deep Wreck
  • Trimix
  • Historic
  • Overhead Environment
  • Tanks On Deck
  • War Grave

When to dive

BestAvoidOK

Same Chuuk dry-season window as the other Marus. Nippo Maru sits upright with her deck around 40 m and superstructure shallower; the famous tank, water tanker and field artillery on the foredeck are the headline.

7.3850° N, 151.8567° E

Notes

'Tank wreck' — Japanese armed cargo with a Type 95 Ha-Go tank on deck, water tanker, and field guns. Cargo holds open to penetration.

Marine life

Other
Type 95 Ha-Go light tank on the port side of the foredeck — Chuuk's most photographed wreck detail
Corals
soft coral on the deck guns and king posts
Sharks
grey reef shark
Reef fish
batfish, snapper, grouper, glassfish

Wreck

Vessel
Nippo Maru
Class
armed Japanese auxiliary cargo / water tanker
Origin
Imperial Japan
Sunk
1944 — US Navy aerial bombing during Operation Hailstone, 17–18 Feb 1944
Length
108 m
Penetration
Possible — with training

Dive clubs that visit this site

Sources

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