Diving Thoughts

This was our first dive this trip on the Fujikawa Maru, many people’s favourite wreck, and it’s certainly one of my favourites. She was built in 1938 as a passenger / cargo carrier, and was originally used to carry raw silk and cotton between South America and India. The navy took her over in 1940 and she was converted to carry aircraft and aircraft parts. She was also fitted with 6 inch bow and stern guns. The guns were actually old guns that had been taken off decomissioned cruisers from the Russo-Japanese war. The front one has a plate showing that it was manufactured in 1899.

Shortly before the Hailstone attack she had arrived in Truk and offloaded 30 B5N2 “Jill” bombers to Eten airfield. These were subsequently destroyed on the ground.  The Fujikawa Maru herself was sunk by a torpedo that hit her amidships, and she now lies in 35 metres.

We dropped inthrough a skylight and did a tour of the engine room, including the workshop which was full of tools and machines, including a workbench with a vice on it. We went down to the lower levels before heading out into hold number 3, which contained oil drums. From there we headed into number 2 hold which had aeroplane parts, including 4 fuselages and a lot of propellers. Number 1 hold had a tripod of rifles propped together along with gas masks, small arms ammunition, more propellers, several aeroplane nose cones, and an outboard motor. From there we headed up to the bow gun, and the bow telegraph.

We saw a turtle, 3 different species of nudibranch, small barracuda, tuna and the inevitable blue fin trevally. A very good dive.

Fujikawa Maru

• Displacement: 6,938 tons
• Length: 435 feet
• Beam: 58.5 feet
• Engine: 1 diesel engine
• Depth: 10-35  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 29.7 m.
• Time: 64 minutes
• Gas:  Nitrox 32

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

Photos courtesy of Catheryn Chu

Sonar searches by an Estonian minesweeper, Ugandi, have found the remains of 3 British ships that were part of a squadron that was supporting the Baltic states’ struggle for independence against both German and Soviet invaders in 1918 / 1919.

The cruiser HMS Cassandra was sunk by an uncharted German mine on 5th December 1918 with the loss of 11 of her crew of 400. Two Flower Class sloops, HMS Myrtle and HMS Gentian, were sunk by mines in July 1919 while clearing a passage to try and supply the independent Estonian government with weapons. Nine men were lost.

The ships apparently lie in around 60-100 metres of water near the island of Saaremaa.

There is more information on the Guardian’s website.

We were anchored very close to the Hoyo Maru, and from the Thorfinn could see the shallow water that lies above her. She was a large tanker which was being repaired for torpedo damage, when she was sunk by bombs. She now lies upside down in around 30 metres of water, although she comes up to within 3 metres of the surface. She is actually on a slope so  her bow is at around 37 metres. She is almost broken in half, with a very obvious crack amidships. Actually “crack” is a bit of an understatement, “chasm” would be more accurate.

There is a large hole in the stern leading into the engine room (like most tankers, her engines were at the back). We swam around that and into the steerage area. Rita and the guide went a bit deeper into the ship and found a lobster, while Trevor and I headed back outside. We went up over the hull, which is encrusted with hard coral. At the point where the ship is nearly split in two, was a school of 12-15 snapper. There were a lot of reef fish all over the coral on her hull, and a very pretty pipe fish. Oh and of course there was the inevitable school of blue fin trevally.

It was a very colourful site and looks as though it would make an excellent night dive.

Hoyo Maru

• Displacement: 8,691 tons
• Length: 475 feet
• Depth: 3-37  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 30.7 m.
• Time: 52 minutes
• Gas:  Nitrox 32

After the Truk trip in April, were we all-wrecked-out? Not entirely. So given the opportunity to go to Subic Bay with Trevor over a Bank Holiday weekend in May, Rita and I jumped at it.

We flew out of Hong Kong on a Cebu Pacific flight at 9:55pm, and Trevor picked us up from Manila airport at midnight. Since we had a very early start and a long drive ahead of us, we prepared physically and mentally for the journey by drinking beer and shooting the breeze until well after 2am. At 6 am, we were up bleary-eyed and whatever the opposite of bushy-tailed is. After a leisurely breakfast, we finally made it out on to the road at around 7:30. Once out of Manila, the drive was very pleasant, particularly the stretch along a new highway between Clark and Subic Bay. It’s a good road, wasn’t very busy, and passes through some beautiful countryside.

We arrived at the Blue Rock resort around 11am and checked in. We’d got deluxe rooms for 2,500 pesos per night, as the 2000 peso standard rooms were all full. The only difference seems to be that ours were upstairs. The resort has a dive operation attached, but on a previous visit, they’d told Trevor that he needed to book diving a day in advance. So instead, we walked 200 yards down the road to Johan’s, and they couldn’t have been more helpful. Johan himself is originally from Belgium. He has been diving the wrecks around here ever since the Americans left, and he has established a good dive operation, allied to a resort, complete with bar and restaurant.

Our divemaster, Weng, got us all organised and after lunch we were heading out for our first dive. Since one of our number had only just passed her PADI Open Water, this was going to be a very gentle checkout dive. We dived The Barges, which is a series of sections from a floating dock on a sandy bottom near Grande island. The shallowest section is in about 6 metres, heading down to the deeper ones at 32m. We stayed relatively shallow, and it was a surprisingly good dive with lots of marine life. The highlights included titan triggerfish, blue fin trevally, lion fish, orange lined trigger fish, a number of trumpet fish, as well as a large octopus. There was also a Mantis shrimp which must have been nearly  6″ long, and instead of hiding in a hole, it was wandering across the sand. Although it wasn’t looking quite so brave after it saw Rita salivating and frantically looking around for a pair of chopsticks and a wok.

Lion Fish

Our second dive was on El Capitan, which was a 3,000 ton freighter that now rests on her port side on a slight slope. Because it was getting a bit late it was quite dark on the wreck, which is quite silty in parts. We swam along the deck and there were some large sweetlips, a big snapper, several nice nudibranchs. There was also a nice black lion fish. On the way back we swam along the hull. We stayed on the outside, and the visibility wasn’t as good as on the first dive, but it was still interesting.

The menu at Blue Rock is substantial, and it takes several meals to read it all. The food is also substantial, which caught us out a bit on the first night when we made the mistake of ordering a soup a main course – we didn’t do that again! Draft beer was 50 pesos, and went down very smoothly. On the Friday night they had a live band who were good fun, and it was a really nice evening, in a lovely beach-side setting. At 11pm the band finished up with The Eagles’ Hotel California. When I got back to my room, there was no pink champagne on ice, but there was a mirror on the ceiling.  I have to confess that that mirror got quite a lot of use over the next couple of days, after I realised that I could have a shave without getting out of bed.

The following morning, pausing only to eat a massive breakfast, we headed off to Johan’s for a 10am dive. We were going to dive the USS New York.  This is an armoured cruiser which was launched in 1891. She was later renamed the Saratoga and finally the Rochester, but is still referred to as the New York. She was decommissioned in 1933, and was scuttled in December 1941 to prevent her falling into Japanese hands.

She now lies on her port side in about 27 metres, with her starboard side coming up to around 15 metres. We dropped down to the stern and had a look at one of the propeller shafts and the rudder, before coming around to the deck. Before long we arrived at her rear turret, which is intact and still contains 2×8 inch guns. We carried on forward past the superstructure, finally reaching the forward turret. This is also intact and also has 2×8 inch guns, although Rita didn’t see these as she was busy taking a photo of a pair of nudibranchs that were nestled between them. We went around the bow and then swam along a companionway until we arrived back at the line on the stern. There was a lot of fish life, including some of the biggest bat fish that I’ve ever seen. There were also some large snapper and sweetlips, moorish idols, trevally and several big nudibranchs.
After an hour long surface interval, our second dive of the day was on a Japanese Patrol boat, which may have originally been a converted trawler. She was upright, between 18 and 25 metres. It is not known exactly when she sank. Some sources have suggested that 1944 or 1945 after the American air raids started to increase, but another source has suggested as early as March 1942. The visibility wasn’t particularly good, but there was a lot of coral and marine life on the wreck including some tasty looking coral trout. We did several circuits, and had a look into the engine room and the wheelhouse, which is quite open. Then our computers started complaining, so we headed back to the line which was tied off near the bow.

Back to Blue Rock for the obligatory massive lunch to set us up for the final dive of our trip. This was on the LCU, which is a “Landing Craft Utility”. It is on a slope with the starboard side of the bow being the deepest part of the wreck, and the port side of the stern the shallowest. The depth varied from 9 to 20 metres. We dropped down on the stern, close  to a lovely stingray, before swimming towards the bow. The forward part of the wreck is quite open but you can see the ramp at the front, as well as some of the gear which was presumably for raising and lowering it. Near the stern are several cabins, one of which was stuffed full of glassfish. On the reef to the side of the wreck we came across a large octopus, puffer fish and several nice lion fish. A great dive to finish on.

Back at Johan’s and the staff helped us to wash out all our gear and hang it up to dry. We then headed to Blue Rock for yet another massive dinner and a few beers.

Sunday was quite a leisurely day. We paid our bills, then set off back to Manila at 9:30. We made good time and everything was going well. Too well. In the pantheon of famous last words “We’re almost home, another 5 minutes should do it” must rank right up there alongside “What happens if I press this?”. Trevor had just uttered those very words when a woman in a dark green SUV decided to swerve into our lane without warning, and presumably without looking. Trevor braked sharply to avoid hitting her, and I was relieved to see how effective the brakes on his car are, because we somehow managed to stop in time. However my relief was short-lived, as a taxisecond* later a bus drove through our rear window.

* A taxisecond: Rather like a millisecond only shorter. In fact it is the shortest known time in the universe, being the difference between the light going green and the taxi behind you blowing his horn. **

** Originally inspired by either Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, but well worth plagiarising!

The bus driver did his best to absolve Trevor of all blame by doing a runner, leaving the conductor to face the music, which at least is something a conductor should be used to.  The last I heard the police were planning to arrest the driver for fleeing the scene of an accident. Actually the police were very friendly and helpful. One of them had 2 mobile phones and when I asked if that was one for the wife and one for the girlfriend, he gave me a serious explanation of how it was a backup in case they were out of range of one network. Then he laughed and said that it worked for the chicks too.

The diving in Subic was actually much better than I had expected. I think we were lucky with the visibility, perhaps because there has been very little rain in the Philippines recently. We probably had 10 – 15 metres visibility, which is far better than Trevor has had there in the past. The wrecks we dived were all interesting and, unlike the ones at Coron, they still have a lot on them. This may be because Subic Bay was a restricted area until recently because of the American base, which meant the wrecks haven’t been salvaged significantly.

It was a pretty good value trip. The Cebu Pacific flights cost us HKD 1000 each and we paid an extra HKD 350 to upgrade our luggage allowance from 15kg to 25kg. Johan’s charged us 1,000 pesos per dive and we did 5 dives. Blue Rock’s deluxe rooms were 2,500 pesos per night and we were there for 2 nights. Food and drinks for 2 of us worked out at just under 5,000 pesos, and we certainly didn’t stint on the food, or the drinks. So overall the long weekend for 2 people cost 20,000 pesos plus flights, so approximately  HKD 6,000 in total. Of course that didn’t include getting from Manila to Subic Bay, as Trevor drove, so if anyone is thinking of going, you will need to factor that in. Another alternative might be to look at flying into Clark which is only an hour away, rather than Manila. There seem to be fairly regular jeepneys between Clark and Subic Bay.

I would like to thank Trevor for organising a fantastic diving trip as well. I’d also like to thank him for buying a very strong car, without which we might have ended up with a lot worse than minor scratches and a headache.

The Hoki Maru is another of my favourite dives (yes, I know, I’ve got a lot of favourites). She was built in Scotland in 1921 and christened the British-New Zealand ship M/V Hauraki. She was captured in December 1941 by the Aikoku and Hokoku Maru, and was subsequently renamed the Hoki Maru.

She was used as a special transport, and when she was sunk she was carrying a cargo of construction equipment. The front of the ship has been very heavily damaged and she lies upright in 45 metres.

As we dropped down, we saw a graceful eagle ray next to the ship. After that auspicious start, we dropped into the rear hold to see a wide variety of trucks and bulldozers. These are what make this wreck special. Interestingly there are also quite a lot of large spherical glass bottles that may have been used to store chemicals.

Hoki Maru

• Displacement: 7,112 tons
• Length: 450 feet
• Beam: 58 feet
• Engine: 2 diesel engines
• Depth: 11-46  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 43.5 m.
• Time: 51 minutes
• Gas:  Air

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

The Kansho is one of my favourite dives, primarily because of her engine room.

She was built in 1938 as a passenger / cargo ferry, but was taken over by the Japanese navy and a 3 inch bow gun was fitted. She was used for transporting supplies and was bombed in Kwajalein. Her engine room was damaged and she had to be towed to Truk by the Momokawa Maru. Both ships anchored in the repair anchorage on their arrival and both were sunk in the Hailstone attacks. The Kansho Maru was hit by a torpedo and sank in 40 metres of water. She is upright, with a 20 degree list to port.

We did this as a dusk dive, and as we dropped down in daylight, there was a nice little turtle swimming along the wreck. We headed into the engine room, which is 3 storeys high with ladders leading you down. Following the guide we went through too quickly to see it as much as we wanted, something we corrected later in the week.

Swimming forwards we had a look at the bow gun before heading back to the 4 storey superstructure. We had a good look in a number of rooms including the radio room and the galley. We went up to the navigation deck where there is a well-preserved telegraph. We finished up our safety stops on the funnel, where we inadvertently picked up a spare diver from Fong’s group who had arrived 20 minutes after us. I suppose all divers look the same in the dark!

Kansho Maru

• Displacement: 4,861tons
• Length: 380 feet
• Beam: 52.5 feet
• Engine: 1 diesel engine
• Depth: 8 – 40  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 35.1 m.
• Time: 54 minutes
• Gas:  Air

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

The Shinkoku is a lovely dive with good coral growth and excellent fish life.

She was built in 1939 as a tanker, and she originally carried oil from the US, before the oil embargo was imposed. She was then converted into a fleet oiler and supported Admiral Nagano’s strike force in the Pearl Harbour attack. She survived two days of Hailstone attacks before being sunk by a torpedo which hit the engine room.

We started on the bridge and visited the infirmary with its operating table. There are a number of rooms off  the infirmary, including bathrooms, and a lot of things to see in the superstructure.

We then headed backwards to the rear part of the ship and headed down through a variety of rooms into the large engine room. We spent some time in there before having a look at the stern gun, then heading back to the bridge. There are 3 telegraphs still upright in the bridge section. Fish life was good, with the ubiquitous blue fin trevally in evidence throughout the dive. Another excellent dive, and rightly regarded as among the best in Truk Lagoon.

Shinkoku Maru

• Displacement: 10,020 tons
• Length: 500 feet
• Beam: 65 feet
• Engine: 1 diesel engine
• Depth: 12 – 40  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 34.7 m.
• Time: 53 minutes
• Gas:  Nitrox 32

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

The Kiyozumi Maru was built in 1934 as a freighter with passenger accommodation. In November 1941 the navy converted her into an armed raider by adding six inch guns, torpedo launchers and anti-aircraft guns. In 1943 the navy reversed course slightly and she was converted to a transport ship. After being torpedoed she was towed to Truk for repairs, a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. While being repaired she was bombed and sank on her port side in 30 metres of water.

We swam in through the large torpedo hole into the second hold. From there we went through the superstructure where the engine room was wide open. We passed the rear holds and swam past the stern and onto the hull. On the hull there are a number of artefacts that have been placed there for people to see.

Bicycle in Hold #5. Photo by Lau Wing Kee

Kiyozumi Maru

• Displacement: 6,983 tons
• Length: 450 feet
• Beam: 61 feet
• Engine: 1 diesel engine
• Depth: 10 – 32  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 27.2 m.
• Time: 54 minutes
• Gas:  Nitrox 32

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

I asked Rob for a good wreck for my 600th dive and he certainly delivered. The San Francisco Maru was built in 1919 as a medium freighter. She had been in semi-retirement when the war started, but was used by the Japanese navy for carrying cargo.

She was fully loaded in February 1944 when she was bombed as part of Operation Hailstone. Apparently photographs show her stern on fire. She sank upright in over 60 metres of water. This makes her quite deep, so there is not a lot of coral on her. The water around is generally quite clear and she is a very popular wreck. She is certainly one of my favourites.

Uncle Bill was someone who has helped both Rita and myself over the years and he was well known to several of the people on the trip. Sadly he died last year, and while a keen diver, he had never visited Truk.  So we chose this dive to scatter his ashes on one of the prettiest wrecks in the lagoon.

There is a mooring line which seems to be tied to an anchor line on the port side of the bow. We went down that and swam along the deck from the picturesque bow gun, towards the superstructure. The first hold used to be full of hemispherical mines but unfortunately fishermen have been taking them to use in dynamite fishing. As s a result there are a lot less mines there than I’d seen on previous visits. After that disappointment, we carried on past the second hold, which has a number of trucks and barrels inside.

On the deck just in front of the superstructure are 3 Type 95 “Ha-Go” light tanks. One is on the port side, and two are on the starboard side, where one appears to be mounting the other. They were being carried as deck cargo and must have been thrown about quite violently as the ship sank.

We only had enough bottom time to tour the forward half of the ship, and after too short a time, we had to turn around and head back to the line. It was a great dive on a lovely wreck.

San Francisco Maru

• Displacement: 5,864 tons
• Length: 385 feet
• Beam: 51 feet
• Engine: 1 steam/coal fired engine
• Depth: 40 -60  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 51.1 m.
• Time: 44 minutes
• Gas:  Air plus Nitrox 50 stage

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

The Futagami was a large salvage tug, and was launched in 1939. She carried salvage derricks, as well as pumps and hoses.

She was involved in the unsuccessful attempts to raise the I-169 submarine, which we had dived earlier in the day.

Her sinking seems to be a bit of a mystery, and it may well be that she was scuttled towards the end of the war, perhaps to prevent the Americans taking her over.

We did this at about 5:30 pm as a dusk dive. Dropping in as it was starting to go dark. The stern was in less than 10 metres, and she angles down a slope with her bow at about 30 metres. We started at the stern and swam forwards past the towline tube just aft of the superstructure. Further on was something that looked a bit like a huge bucket, which housed an anti-aircraft gun. There was one on either side. We went past the bridge which has an intact telegraph inside, before having a look at the crew quarters which are near the bow. Heading back past the bridge again, we had a look into the very tight engine room, and finished up in the aft hold, where the thick salvage hose was stored.

This was another very enjoyable dive.

Futagami Fleet Tug

• Displacement: 625 tons
• Length: 131 feet
• Beam: 32 feet
• Engine: 2  coal/oil fired engines
• Depth: 10 – 30  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 25.5 m.
• Time: 43 minutes
• Gas:  Nitrox 32

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.

On my two previous visits I had not dived this wreck. Opinions on it seem to be polarised. Beforehand I was told that it was so badly damaged that it was practically empty and just a shell, which was largely true. I was also told that there were masses of fish on it, and the views looking out of the wreck to the clean, white sand beyond were really pretty, which was also true.  On balance I fall into the second camp, as I  thoroughly enjoyed my dive.

The Kikukawa was a cargo ship and, according to Klaus Lindemann, on 7th October 1943 supplies were being loaded for a garrison in the Marshall Islands when fire broke out. The ship was carrying a large amount of ordinance, and when the fire reached it in the evening there was a massive explosion. The explosion sank the Kikukawa, completely destroying the rear of the ship. It also sank a salvage vessel that was attempting to fight the fires.

The forward part of the Kikukawa is all that is left, and it is almost upside down. Inside is just a huge cavernous interior with some oil drums, some mangled pieces of machinery. As I had been told the views out onto the sand were lovely, and there were masses of fish on the wreck, including two big puffer fish. Andreas spotted a shark outside.

The hull has some ridges on it, which were apparently caused by pressure waves from the explosion. It was an interesting wreck to see, with good fish life. One I would like to do again.

Kikukawa Maru

• Displacement: 3,833 tons
• Length: 354 feet
• Beam: 50 feet
• Depth: 20 – 37  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 39.3 m.
• Time: 49 minutes
• Gas:  Air

The Heian Maru is the largest wreck still in Truk Lagoon. She was built in 1930 as a passenger / cargo liner, but was converted in to a submarine tender. She was sunk on the 2nd day of Operation Hailstone when a torpedo hit her engine room. She now lies on her port side in about 35 metres of water, but because of her size, her starboard side is at 12 metres.

This is a great wreck, and one dive barely scratches the surface of what there is to see. We focused on the central section and the bow, but still only saw a fraction of it. The merchant ships generally follow a similar pattern, with 2 or 3 holds either side of a central superstructure containing the engine room. But the liners have the addition of, in this case, three decks on a much larger superstructure, which makes them more complex from a diving point of view. This, combined with the size of the Heian Maru, made this a wreck we wanted to come back to.

There is a companionway running along the superstructure containing some very long tubes which were periscopes /snorkels for submarines, as you can see in Catheryn’s photo:

Passageway on Heian Maru (Photo: Catheryn Chu)

Since she lies on her side, once you get a bit deeper into the superstructure it can be very dark. We went into the engine room, where there was a skull, a reminder of the loss of life that happened here. From there, we explored more of the superstructure and the upper companionways, before heading round to the forward holds. Finally we came up to the bow, where you can still clearly see the ship’s name in both English and Japanese.

As we headed along the side back to the line, there were a variety of artefacts that have been placed there, as you can see in Catheryn’s photos below:

Wing, phoning home (Photo: Catheryn Chu)

More artefacts on Heian Maru (Photo: Catheryn Chu)

Heian Maru

• Displacement: 11,616 tons
• Length: 510 feet
• Beam: 66 feet
• Engine: 2  diesels
• Depth: 12 – 35  m.

Our Dive

• Depth: 27.8 m.
• Time: 57 minutes
• Gas:  Nitrox 32

Graphic courtesy of Captain Lance Higgs of S.S. Thorfinn.