Truk Lagoon Wrecks (The Deepest, Biggest, & Most Popular Wrecks)

What are the deepest, biggest and most popular Truk Lagoon Wrecks?

I have spent a bit of time compiling a list of the Truk Lagoon wrecks. If you’re planning a trip to Truk or Chuuk Lagoon, I’m hoping this article will help you do just that. However, please add a comment below, if it could be improved in any way.

The best way to dive Truk Lagoon is by a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on Truk Lagoon liveaboards using the following window:

Truk Lagoon wrecks or Chuuk Lagoon wrecks?

Truk Lagoon is the name these Pacific lagoons and islands were named in 1944 when they were in Japanese occupation. However, the name of Truk Lagoon was changed in 1990 to Chuuk Lagoon.

Scuba divers seem to use these two names synonymously. Whilst the correct name is Chuuk Lagoon, at the time these ship wrecks were sunk it was named Truk Lagoon.

The Chuuk Lagoon wrecks are now dived by scuba divers across the world.

Chuuk Lagoon wrecks – A complete list in alphabetical order

Below is a table showing the majority of the Chuuk Lagoon wrecks for scuba diving. To scroll through the wrecks, click on the ‘Next’ button below and then to scroll back, click on the ‘Previous’button.

You can also search for a specific wreck too in the search box below.

 

Which are the deepest of the Truk Lagoon Wrecks?

Truk Lagoon wreck diving depths range from a shallow 15 metres (50 feet) to 67 metres (220 feet).

One of the deepest wreck of Truk Lagoon, or should I say Chuuk Lagoon is the San Francisco Maru. But not the deepest.

• She lies in 64 metres (210 feet) of water.
• Only the most advanced divers can diver the San Francisco Maru wreck.
• The shallowest part of the San Francisco Maru wreck is at 42 metres (140 feet). This means that you can’t dive for too long before going into decompression stop diving.
• The San Francisco Maru wreck was a passenger cargo ship measuring 117 metres (385 feet).
• She was 5,831 tons.
• The San Francisco Maru operated in world trade operations in minerals such as coal, bauxite, and phosphate for transportation to the Japanese Empire.
• This passenger-Cargo ship was built in 1919 for Yamashita Kisen Kabushiki Kaisha.

I include the San Francisco Maru first in the deepest Chuuk Lagoon wrecks, as she is considered to be one of the most exciting of the Chuuk Lagoon wrecks. She has many artefacts still remaining in her midst. This includes a battle tank, as featured in the above image.

What divers see on the San Francisco Maru wreck:

• A bow gun.
• Trucks.
• Tanks.
• Mines.
• Shells and bombs.
• Aircraft engines.
• Ammunition.
• China.
• Depth charges on the stern.

The deepest Chuuk Lagoon wreck – Reiyo Maru No. 6

Reiyo Maru is the deepest of all Chuuk Lagoon wrecks you can scuba dive.

• The Reiyo Maru No. 6 is 67 metres (220 feet) deep.
• The shallowest part of the dive on Reiyo Maru No. 6 is at a depth of 53 metres (175 feet).
• Reiyo Maru wreck is off-limits for most scuba divers, as the limit for recreational divers set at 40 metres.
• The Reiyo Maru wreck was a passenger cargo ship built in 1920.
• She was 121 metres (400 feet) long and weighed 5,446 tons.
• Reiyo Maru was sunk by US aircraft on the first day of Operation Hailstone.
• She was sunk by American dive bombers which came from the USS Essex.
• These bombers scored two direct hits with 1,000 lb. bombs.

Which is the biggest Truk Lagoon wreck?

The Heian Maru wreck is the biggest Truk Lagoon wreck by weight.

• Heian Maru is the largest of all wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon to dive.
• Heian Maru is a converted submarine tender and weighed 11,614 tons.
• This ghost fleet ship was sunk by American Forces during Operation Hailstone in 1944.
• She was 155 metres (510 feet) in length.
• Heian Maru is at a depth of 11 to 33 metres (35 to 110 feet).
• She is lying on her port side.

Diving inside the superstructure of the Heian Maru wreck you’ll see:

• Shells (bombs).
• Torpedoes.
• Submarine periscopes.
• China plates.
• Sake bottles.
• Medical kits.
• A bath tub.
• A radio room.
• Plus many other artefacts.

Her name can be clearly seen on the side of her hull, as show in the above picture of her. You can also see her huge propellers too.

The longest Truk Lagoon wreck

The next measure to judge the biggest wreck in Chuuk Lagoon is using length as a measure. The longest ship of this sunken ghost fleet is the Aikoku Maru wreck.

• The Aikoku Maru, which is a converted passenger freighter.
• She is sitting upright with her fore ship destroyed.
• It has AA guns and a huge stern gun and personal artefacts.
• This wreck is at a depth of 24-64 metres (8-210 feet).
• The Aikoku Maru has a length of 155 metres (527 feet) and weighed in a 10,437 tons.

The shallowest wreck of Chuuk Lagoon

Hino Maru No. 2 is in the shallowest of waters in Chuuk Lagoon.

• The shallowest depth dive on the Hino Maru No. 2 is at just 2 metres (6 feet).
• The deepest part of Hino Maru No. 2 dive is at 18 metres (60 feet).
• This makes her one of 19 wrecks that can be dived by recreational divers limited to 40 metres.
• The Hino Maru No. 2 is known as the ‘Gun High’ wreck.
• Although the bow is only 6 feet from the surface, the deck gun is just 3 feet below the surface.

There are plenty of photographic opportunities on this shallow wreck of Chuuk Lagoon, which is also good for snorkeling too.

How deep are the wrecks in Truk Lagoon?

As already noted above the Truk Lagoon diving depths range from 15 metres (50 feet) through to 67 metres (220 feet) deep.

Whilst on the one hand the shallower dive can be dived by any certified scuba diver, on the other hand the deepest dive on the Reiyo Maru can only be dived by certified technical divers.

You’ll be able to see the various depths of the wrecks in Truk Lagoon from the above table. But I thought it would be useful to grade the wrecks in terms of depth ranges.

I’ve used the deepest part of the wreck for this purpose, as you don’t tend to dive a wreck for its shallowest part. Which means the following categories of Truk Lagoon wrecks are using the max depths for each of the wrecks.

However, you’ll see that some of the wrecks are only just over the category limit and could easily be dived using a shallower dive profile. This is so long as you limit your depth to your planned depth instead of diving to the deepest part of the wreck you dive.

Always remember: Plan your dive and dive the plan!

This article has a very handy table of how deep the dives are in Truk Lagoon. This table will definitely give you a better idea of which wrecks you might be able to dive on each dive depth profile.

Truk Lagoon wreck diving depths – under 20 metres (66 feet) deep

There are just two wrecks that fall into this category. This is excluding the World War II plane wrecks in Truk Lagoon.

The Truk Lagoon wrecks at under 20 metres (66 feet) are:

1. Susuki Patrol Boat No. 34 is 15 metres (50 feet) deep.
2. Hino Maru No. 2 is 18 metres (60 feet) deep.

Truk Lagoon wreck diving depths – under 30 metres (100 feet) deep

There are a total of five wrecks under 30 metres (98 feet) deep in Truk Lagoon.

The Truk Lagoon wrecks under 30 metres (98 feet) include:

1. Hoyo Maru is 3-30 metres (9-100 feet) deep.
2. Futagami Tugboat is 15-28 metres (50-92 feet) deep.
3. Sankisan Maru is 15- to 30 metres (49 to 100 feet) deep.

The wreck featured in the above underwater photo is the Hoyo Maru wreck.

• The Hoyo Maru wreck was a tanker.
• At the time she was sunk she was undergoing repairs due to being torpedoed in November 1943.
• She finally came to rest on the seabed on 17 February 1944.
• The Hoyo Maru wreck is 145 metres (475 feet) in length and weighed 8,691 tons.
• As she sank she capsized and now she lies upside down with a broken back.
• The engine room is damaged, but still accessible by scuba divers and the main hull is covered in hard corals.
• She was built in 1936 originally as a commercial oiler, but was requisitioned by the Japanese Navy in 1941.

Futagami Tugboat is small 12 metre (40 feet) boat weighing 625 tons. In the bridge on the Futagami Tugboat wreck there are twin telegraphs and wheel housing. Visibility not so good on this wreck.

The Sankisan Maru has several trucks lashed to the deck. There are many artefacts around her and most of her forward deck is covered in coral. Additionally, there’s an abundance of sea life and there’s excellent visibility on this wreck dive. She was a 4,752 ton cargo transport ship and 116 metres (380 feet) long.

Truk Lagoon wreck diving depths – under 40 metres (131 feet) deep

There are a total of 19 wrecks (which includes the above two wrecks under 20 metres and three wrecks under 30 metres) at a depth of 40 metres or less in Chuuk Lagoon.

That’s a lot of wrecks to dive on a scuba diving holiday. This means you can dive 19 Truk Lagoon wrecks as a recreational diver. Meaning you don’t have to go tech diver deep to enjoy the Chuuk Lagoon wrecks.

A few of the Truk Lagoon wrecks in addition to the wrecks already listed in the 20 and 30 metre depth ranges above include:

1. Yamagiri Maru is 15-34 metres (50-110 feet) deep.
2. Rio De Janeiro is 10-33 metres (35-110 feet) deep.
3. Heian Maru is 15-34 metres (50-110 feet) deep.
4. Amigisan Maru is 34 metres (110 feet) deep.
5. Yubai Maru is 15-36 metres (50-118 feet) deep.
6. Gosei Maru is 3-37 metres (10-120 feet) deep.
7. Kiyozumi Maru is 12-37 metres (40-120 feet) deep.

The wreck Rio de Janeiro Maru, as featured in the above image.

• She was a 140 metre (461 feet) long passenger liner and was sunk on 17 February 1944 by US aircraft during Operation Hailstone.
• She is lying on her starboard side in 15-33 metres (50-110 feet) of water.
• There’s abundant see life and great visibility on this great diving wreck.
• Points of interest for scuba divers include a huge stern gun, several large gun turrets and gun barrels in the holds.
• There are also many beer bottles and there’s good access to the wreck with an interesting engine room.

Truk lagoon wreck diving depths – over 40 metres deep

The rest of the Truk Lagoon wrecks lie in waters in excess of 40 metres (131 feet) deep.

These begin with the I-169, as shown in the above image.

The I-169 Submarine, along with the Momokawa Maru, are only just over the recreational diver depth of 40 metres. Both are at a maximum depth of 43 metres (140 feet) of water.

So in theory if you’re a recreational diver and would like to dive another two wrecks of Truk Lagoon, you probably can. So long as you stay off the bottom by the additional three metres (9 feet), you’ll be fine.

One other wreck you could include in your Truk Lagoon dive plan or itinerary, is the Taiho Maru which is at a depth of 44 metres (145 feet) of water.

Truk Lagoon wreck diving depths – under 50 metres (164 feet) deep

If you are a dive leader with BSAC you will be certified to dive up to 50 metres (164 feet) deep.

This means you are able to dive on a further eight wrecks in addition to the wrecks at a depth of 40 metres of water. These include the ones discussed above at depths of 43 to 44 metres (140 to 145 feet).

The additional five wrecks include:

• Matsutani Maru.
• Shotan Maru.
• Nippo Maru.
• Seiko Maru.
• Ojima.
• Hoki Maru.

Truk Lagoon wreck diving depths – over 60 metres (197 feet) deep

The rest of the wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon are in excess of 60 metres (197 feet) deep. These require advanced and very deep diver experience and training to dive them.

For these depths of dive you will need to be experienced and certified for mixed gas type diving. You may be better diving with a rebreather. Although having said that, many technical divers still dive to these extreme depths using compress air tanks.

If you are a keen wreck diver and love to go deep, and you have the relevant certifications and experience, then you will probably want to dive on the San Francisco Maru. The San Francisco Maru is considered to be one of the most exciting wrecks of Chuuk Lagoon.

The most popular wrecks of Truk Lagoon

The most popular wreck of Truk Lagoon would include:

• Fujikawa Maru wreck.
• Rio de Janeiro Maru.
• Heian Maru Wreck.
• Aikoku Maru Wreck (see above).
• Nippo Maru Wreck.
• San Francisco Maru Wreck (see above).
• Shinkoku Maru Wreck.

Why the Fujikawa Maru is one of the most popular Truk Lagoon wrecks

Fujikawa Maru wreck is popular because of the iconic workshop compressor which looks like R2D2, as per the image above image.

The Rio de Janeiro Maru wreck is popular because of its huge stern gun. It also has several large gun turrets and gun barrels in the holds. The Rio de Janeiro Maru wreck also has many beer bottles and there’s good access to the wreck with an interesting engine room.

The Heian Maru Wreck is made popular by divers because there are many relics and artefacts. The interior of the Heian Maru is easy to penetrate for divers.

Inside the superstructure of the Heian Maru wreck you’ll see:

• Shells (bombs).
• Torpedoes.
• Submarine periscopes.
• China plates.
• Sake bottles.
• Medical kits.
• A bath tub.
• A radio room.
• Plus many other artefacts.
• Also her huge propeller is still intact, as in the image above.

More Reading: Recovery of the Junkers Jumo 211 (recovery of underwater artifacts)

Why the Nippo Maru is one of the most popular wrecks

On-board the Nippo Maru wreck she has:

• Coastal defence guns.
• Field artillery.
• Trucks.
• A battle tank (see above image).
• Machine guns.
• Shells.
• Mines.
• Nippo Maru also has a particularly photogenic bridge.

These are what makes her one of the most popular Truk Lagoon wrecks to scuba dive.

To see the location of the Truk Lagoon wrecks on a map, please follow this link to: Truk Lagoon wreck map.

I hope you enjoyed this article about Truk Lagoon wrecks

I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!

If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about Truk Lagoon wrecks), please comment below with your questions.

There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.

Have fun and be safe!