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.
dear Neil,
I have read your artacail and I seem to remeber this old romur about the ship,
can you conferm?
I herd that if one is in the ships main cargo hold #5 , that its said to be huanted.
I.E.: one can hear what is said to sound like
well..
Engeines from the trucks, turning over and running
can you conferm????
you local savgel man,
Capitoin H.N.Deckmen
ps
may france and ireland have good relasion together.!
I did find a couple of websites that mentioned the ship being haunted, but I can’t say that I noticed any unusual sounds while I was diving it.
Perhaps another explanation for the rumours could be narcosis?