Irako

The Irako was the fleet's grocer — a purpose-built refrigerated provision ship completed in 1941 to carry meat, vegetables, and rice to squadrons that could stay at sea only as long as their food did. In September 1944, with American carrier strikes reaching Manila, a convoy of auxiliaries withdrew south to the supposed safety of Coron Bay in northern Palawan. On the morning of 24 September, US Navy aircraft flying an unusually long-range strike found them there, and in an hour the bay acquired the fleet of wrecks it is now famous for. The Irako went down almost on her keel with a modest list, largely whole, in the deepest water of the group. Among Coron's wrecks she is the connoisseur's dive: an intact silhouette in dim green water, catwalked engine room, refrigerated holds, and enough depth to demand real planning. Giant groupers have taken up residence where the provisions once were.

How she sank: Sunk by US carrier aircraft in the Coron Bay raid of 24 September 1944.

Condition: One of the most intact large wrecks in the Philippines, aging steadily in warm, low-visibility water.

Penetration: Full With Training. The engine room and long interior corridors are superb but silty and deep; they are dives for wreck-trained or technical divers with guides. Entering any overhead environment requires specific training — a wreck certification at minimum, technical wreck training for full penetration.

Recommended certification: Advanced Open Water with deep experience; wreck/technical training for interiors

Current: Mild · Visibility: 8–20 m

Marine life: Huge groupers in the holds, snapper schools over the deck, black corals and whips along the rails, scorpionfish everywhere the light fails.

Hazards: Depth plus low visibility compounds quickly; interior silt-outs; fishing line drifted over the superstructure.

Philippine heritage rules protect wartime wrecks; local dive fees apply at Coron.

Take nothing — these wrecks have already lost too much to salvage.