Some Chuuk Lagoon wrecks still have parts of skeletons inside them
The Chuuk Lagoon skeletons belies the truth of what took place at Chuuk Lagoon back in World War II. Or in fact at the time the battle took place at Chuuk Lagoon, the name of this area was called Truk Lagoon.
Chuuk Lagoon skeletons are found on the following wrecks:
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:
It was only in 1990 that its name was change to Chuuk Lagoon. To find out more here’s an article on what happened at Truk Lagoon.
The important thing to take away from this article and to note before you dive Chuuk Lagoon is that it is a war grave site.
Respect is important throughout each of your dives there. These images of human skeleton parts bears memory to the Japanese sailors who lost their lives in World War II.
Dive Truk Lagoon by liveaboard:
Truk Lagoon dive liveaboards table
This list of Truk Lagoon liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, followed by Scuba Diving Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating, see below), so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating and the best SDE lux rating will be at the top of the list. If you want to change the list order, use the “Sort by” dropdown below.
The Scuba Diving Earth Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating) is explained on each liveaboard review when you click the “Discover Liveaboard” link, and is my own Liveaboard Luxury Rating I’ve assigned to all liveaboards. Choosing between liveaboards is helped by customer scores, and if you get stuck choosing between two or three liveaboards, where each one has a high customer score out of 10, you can use the SDE Luxury Rating to help narrow down your choice.
Think about it like using Booking.com when searching for the best hotel. Booking.com also use a customer score where each customer rates hotels out of 10. This is similar to the liveaboard customer rating, which is also rated out of 10. But let’s say you only like to stay in hotels rated 8 and above on Booking.com, but you also want the hotel to have WIFI or parking, or to have a swimming pool etc. The features each hotel has is usually secondary to the score out of 10.
Chuuk Lagoon skeletons – which wrecks have human remains?
There are only certain Chuuk Lagoon wrecks that still have human remains or parts of human skeletons.
You may not mind if you see a human skull or other skeleton parts when diving Chuuk Lagoon, but some divers might. But either way, it may be useful to know which wrecks you may find skeletal parts before you dive these Chuuk Lagoon wrecks.
1. Yamagiri Maru wreck – Human Skull
Thought to be the skull of Chief Engineer of the Yamagiri Maru
One of the Chuuk Lagoon wrecks still with skeletons, or should I say parts of skeletons, is the Yamagiri Maru wreck.
The Yamagiri Maru was a passenger cargo transport ship.
This Japanese cargo ship weighed 6,438 tons.
She was 134 metres (439 feet) in length.
Located north-northwest of Fefan.
Dive depth of 15-34 metres (50-110 feet).
This Chuuk Lagoon wreck is a recreational dive as it’s in less than 40 metres (131 feet) of water.
The above image is a human skull on the Yamagiri Maru wreck.
2. Yamagiri Maru wreck – Human skeletal bones and a rib bone
In addition to the lone human skull above there are also a number of human bones and what also looks like a rib bone too.
These parts of a human skeleton are pilled up inside one of the holds of Yamagiri Maru.
3. Japanese Destroyer Oite – Human Shrine and skeletal bones
The second wreck that habours human bones is one of only three military wrecks sitting at the bottom of Chuuk Lagoon. This is the Japanese Kamikaze Class Destroyer Oite.
Japanese Destroyer Oite weighed 1,523 tons.
This destroyer was 100 metres (327 feet) long.
Dive depth in between 52-62 metres (170-205 feet).
This Chuuk Lagoon wreck and lies towards the north end of the lagoon.
The Oite wreck is one of the many deep dives of Chuuk Lagoon. Suited best for technical divers who certified and experienced for decompression stop diving. The Oite wreck too deep for recreational diving, as she’s in water deeper than 40 metres (131 feet).
The above image is of two human skulls sitting side-by-side a statue of Buddha. This has been set up as shrine to the dead seamen of Chuuk Lagoon, many of whom died on 17th February 1944.
4. Japanese Destroyer Oite – Human skeletal bones and skull
There are other skeleton parts on the Japanese destroyer Oite wreck, which include another skull and a few leg bones.
If you are a tech diver and have the diving experience and certification to dive to more than 50 metres deep, this is an excellent wreck dive.
5. Shinkoku Maru wreck – human skeleton bones
Another Truk Lagoon wreck to find human bones when scuba diving Chuuk Lagoon is the Shinkoku Maru wreck.
But the more sinister side of this Chuuk Lagoon wreck, which also belies the story of what happened at Chuuk Lagoon, is there are also human skeleton bones here too.
In the above image you’ll see human bones on a table. This was part of the medical centre on the Shinkoku Maru.
6. Heian Maru – Engine room skull
The final wreck to find human bones scuba diving Chuuk Lagoon wrecks is the Heian Maru wreck.
This makes it the largest wreck sitting in Truk Lagoon.
She was 155 metres (510 feet long).
Dive depth of 15-34 metres (50-110 feet).
The Heian Maru makes and excellent dive, and since the maximum depth is under 40 metres (131 feet) this is a great recreational dive site.
You’ll find a solitary human skull in the engine room of the Heian Maru wreck, as shown in the above image.
How long does it take for bones to decompose in the ocean?
Once a human body has been skeletonized after the scavenging animals have removed the fleshy parts, the bones may undergo fossilization in salty sea water. Fossilization is when the bones are converted into minerals. This means the bones may last indefinitely at Truk Lagoon.
Keen to scuba dive Chuuk Lagoon
Chuuk Lagoon isn’t only about the skeletons and human remains, but is about serious wreck diving.
The wrecks are amazing and huge. Plus there are many military artefacts to explore in and around many of the wrecks.
I hope you enjoyed this article about Chuuk Lagoon skeletons
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 Chuuk Lagoon skeletons), 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!
Chuuk Lagoon Skeletons (The Skeletons Of A Ghost Fleet)
Related Posts:
Truk Lagoon Human Remains (Is Truk Lagoon Ghost Fleet… Truk Lagoon human remains include human skulls and bones. The human bones include leg bones and rib bones. The human lives lost at Truk Lagoon during Operation Hailstone in 1944…
Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
