Shinkoku Maru

The Shinkoku Maru had already touched history before she reached the bottom of Truk Lagoon: completed in 1940, she was one of the tankers that refueled the strike force on its run toward Pearl Harbor in December 1941. She spent the war feeding the fleet's boilers until Operation Hailstone found her at anchor in February 1944, when an aircraft torpedo ended her and she settled upright and nearly level on the lagoon floor. Time has been strangely generous. Sitting in nutrient-rich, sheltered water, her decks, rails, masts, and bridge have grown the densest coral garden of any wreck in the lagoon — anemones carpet the telegraphs, and night dives here rank among the finest anywhere. The counterweight to all that color is below decks: her sick bay, with its operating table, is one of the lagoon's most sobering spaces, and human remains have been encountered aboard. She is dived, rightly, as both reef and grave.

How she sank: Sunk by US carrier aircraft during Operation Hailstone, February 1944.

Condition: Upright, intact, and thickly overgrown; among the best-preserved large wrecks of the Pacific war.

Penetration: Full With Training. The bridge, engine room, and sick bay are dived by wreck-trained teams with guides; the sick bay in particular calls for slow fins and silence. Entering any overhead environment requires specific training — a wreck certification at minimum, technical wreck training for full penetration.

Recommended certification: Advanced Open Water; wreck training for interiors

Current: Mild · Visibility: 15–30 m

Marine life: Anemonefish colonies on the superstructure, soft corals sheathing every rail, reef sharks passing at the bow, and prolific invertebrate life after dark.

Hazards: Deep silt inside, aging overheads, and the usual lagoon rule: fine trim or stay out.

Protected under Chuuk state law as part of the lagoon monument; dive permit/fee applies.

A war grave containing human remains — enter briefly, touch nothing, and photograph the dead not at all.

Everything aboard is protected; removal is illegal.