San Francisco Maru

Nicknamed the Million Dollar Wreck for the cargo she took down, the San Francisco Maru is Chuuk's deep prize. Three light tanks sit queued on her deck as if awaiting orders, trucks and staked mines fill the holds, and shells lie stacked where stevedores left them in 1944. The depth keeps her pristine: little coral, little traffic, details crisp in the darker water. She is also unambiguous technical territory (main deck around 50 m), and the lagoon's history of divers hurt here belongs in every briefing. For qualified teams she compresses the whole story of Truk into one descent.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: Light tanks on deck; mines and munitions in the forward holds; an almost undisturbed 1944 time capsule.

التضاريس: Upright hull on the lagoon floor at roughly 63 m, main deck near 50 m

نقطة الدخول: A planned decompression dive run with technical support; recreational divers should choose a shallower wreck.

المخاطر: Depth, narcosis on air, mandatory decompression, and munitions throughout the cargo; this wreck has claimed lives. Plan and staff the dive accordingly.

الحفاظ على البيئة البحرية: A protected historic wreck carrying live ordnance and human history; its untouched state is the entire point. Leave it exactly as found.