HIJMS Nagato
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily, so treat everything here as planning ranges.
The battleship Nagato was Admiral Yamamoto's flagship when the Pearl Harbor operation was set in motion, which gives her afterlife at Bikini a heavy symmetry: assigned as a target for the 1946 tests, she absorbed the Baker blast and sank quietly a few nights later. She lies upside down, hull toward the surface, and the classic tour runs to the four enormous propellers standing in file off the stern, one of technical diving's defining photographs. Under the flared bow, teams can sight the muzzles of sixteen-inch guns pressed toward the sand. Depth, orientation, and history demand, and receive, complete seriousness.
The moment you come for: The four propellers; 41-cm gun muzzles beneath the inverted bow; the flagship connection to December 1941.
Topography: Capsized hull resting on its superstructure at roughly 50 m
Entry: Expedition diving only, planned as a decompression dive from the first briefing.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Working depths beyond 45 m with mandatory decompression; confined inverted spaces; absolute remoteness from medical care.
Conservation: Within the UNESCO-listed test site and treated with memorial respect; nothing is removed, and penetration follows expedition protocols only.
Who you'll meet
Dogtooth Tuna
Giant Trevally
Grey Reef Shark
"Charted here" species were listed by our editors from the sources on this page. Counts are GBIF occurrence records: observations logged within about 5 km of the charted position since 1990, matched only against the species in our catalogue. They show what has been seen there, not a promise of what you will see.
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ (editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting)