Coron Shipwrecks-a Quick Guide

The Wrecks Heer is a Quick Guide to Some Great Wrecks in Coron-a Fully Illustrated Version is Available to Down Load From deeplens@aol.com

Watch out for our escorted tours in 2011

KOGYO MARU

The Kogyo Maru was built in 1938 by Uraga Dock Co Ltd, Uraga, Japan for Okada Gumi KK. The ship was 6353 tons, 129 mts long, and 18 mts wide. She was powered by two oil fuelled steam turbines (517Nhp) geared to a single shaft. The engines were built by Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd, Tokyo. Her home port was Osaka.

The wreck lies on is starboard side in 35 mtrs and is totally covered in marine growth-in particular stunning orange gorgonian which in turn are the home to hundreds of reef fishes .As her kingposts are intact they reach ot horizontally and are a dive in their own right-especially when looking for the intricate wild life living amongst the corals. It is possible to swim through into all six holds and through the engine room and bridge area. The second hold contains  bags of cement . A small bulldozer, a  tractor and air compressor- perhaps she was to service the construction of an airfield.

The bridge and engine room require a dive a part, with many easy points of access. The port side is literally a coral reef with schools of barracuda and jacks marauding the perimeter. barracuda.This is a wreck worthy of repeat visits, especially with a camera.

OLYMPIA MARU

The Olympia Maru was 122 metres long and almost 17 metres wide, displacing 5612 tons. The ship was originally powered by a steam engine but during 2 June to 2 August 1930, an oil two stroke six cylinder engine producing 582hp was installed. The ship was built for Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha Ltd and was owned by them right up till it sank. It was requisitioned by the Japanese Defence Forces during the War but was still owned by Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha Ltd.

Today the wreck sits upright in 30 mtrs of water close to Tangart Island. Mark took me on a guided tour of the wreck from stern to bow-passing two huge boilers on the way-which led me to believe that this was not the Olympia mar as she was a diesel vessel.

Again the wreck supported an amazing array or marine life including many unusual and varied patterned nudibranchs.

This dive Max depth: 28-30 meters, deck level 18-24 meters.

KYOKUZAN MARU

Japanese armed freighter,6490 tons. approximately 160-180 meters long.

Location: Northeast of Busuanga Island.”Dim Alanta Island”. The journey by jeepnee from Coron town and the walk to our dive boat through the mangroves was quite memorable! Here we experienced some of the best visibility of the first tour. Impressive gun mounts to both for and aft, great marine life including one very big bold and fearsome looking barracuda no doubt who owns this wreck .Penetration into the ships interior was very rewarding with a great engine room.. Japanese staff cars and trucks can be found in the cargo holds .Despite the wreck being covered in clams, the photographic vistas are quite amazing.

Max depth: 40 meters on the bottom. The deck level lies between 22 and 28 meters..

TAI EI? (un confirmed)

Many of the wrecks we dived were very well established as coral reefs in their own right, and it was often difficult to decide which lens to use . Wide angle lenses produced some stunning vista-s of the wrecks often belying the visibility. However, many of the species inhabiting the wrecks were” wish list” critters. We encountered ornate ghost pipefish, inverted pipe fish, mantis shrimps, catfish balls, large cuttlefish and many varied reef fishes. The hard coral formations ,sponges and sea squirts added to the list, and although we rarely saw an large morays the ribbon eels and smaller species more than made up for it..Our first trip was pre digital days, so it wasn’t difficult to use up all 36 shots in one dive. Nudibranchs too were a macro delight.

According to my log of 2000 #3286, this was  a huge vessel sitting upright with its bow pointing skyward, but on my return visit in2002 I make no mention of the wreck, but the name OKINAWA appears  #4008/9. Whatever her identity  my logs report them as a superb dive intact wreck covered in soft corals and abounding with fish Both entries though comment on the evidence of substantial salvage-e engineering which couldn’t have been accomplished underwater. depth: 25 meters, average about 15 meters .Guess the RSWA needs to go back and sort this identity mess out!

OKIKAWA MARU

Lionfish, nudibranchs and featherstars, all common residents living in the wrecks.

A Japanese tanker, 168 m long. Location: Busuanga Island, 2 miles south of Conception the

largest of the Coron wrecks. Log ref #4003 “bow section in 3 parts” nudibranchs abound. Pipe bridge/raised walkway covered in coral trees lies in 16 mtrs, fish life every where. Great exploration into pump houses which descend deep into the hull. Centre island superstructure is easily accessible covering 2 stories Bridge and   ,engine room are located at the stern of the wreck. .It was possible to enter the engine room through the prop shaft tunnel-as both the prop and its shaft had been removed.-so had the engine, although we could not see any evidence as to how such a salvage feat had taken place! Again in dives4008/9  entry comments of lack of fittings.Large numbers of snappers, batfish and fusiliers patrolled the upright sections of the wreck. Both the bow and stern are a dive in their own right.viz though on our second tour was in consist ant.

NANSHIN MARU (un confirmed) aka (BLACK ISLAND WRECK)

The “Black Island Wreck” appears to be a  small tanker  approximately 50 meters long sitting upright on a sandy bottom, located close to Black Island Beach in front of the stranded vessel. Giant cuttlefish were one of the highlights of this wreck ,along with mantis shrimp. Pipefish and a whole host of colorful backdrops to keep a snapper happy for days! Good viz too! Max depth 28 mtrs, but the sloping attitude of the wreck allowed for nice long dives without incurring an decompression. She is bow down with the stern inn 32mtrs.Sponges, hydroids and featherstars encrust the hull. Cuttlefish, mantis shrimps and ribbon eels were an added bonus.

One wreck enthusiast also notes identity crisis here too!

“HISTORY OF THE ERROR IN NAMING THIS WRECK: The Japanese had many ships named Nanshin Maru. One Nanshin Maru was a Japanese freighter sunk in the Malacca Straits by a US submarine. There was also a tanker, the Nansai Maru ex. British oiler Ploiden, sunk at Black Island during WWII. This ship was captured in Hong Kong and renamed by the Japanese. The location of the Nansai Maru is not definitely known. It may be on the opposite side of Black Island in 60 meters of water.”

IJN AKITSUSHIMA

The IJN Akitsushima , flying boat tender, shown here with an EMILY flying boat..

The IJN Akitsushima was a seaplane tender/carrier. The ship displaced 4724 tons, had a length of 118 meters and was 15.7 meters wide. The ship was powered by four diesel engines driving twin props, a total of 8000 ship, giving a maximum speed of 19 knots A rmament consisted of  10 x25 mm anti-aircraft guns, four x 5” (50 cal) guns and carried one large Kanwanishi flying boat.

29 April 1942: Completed, and assigned to the 25th Air Division, 11th Air Fleet.
15 May 1942: Sailed to Saipan and Rabaul. 1943: Arrive at Truk. Remains to the end of the year. January 1944: Remains at Truk throughout, same assignment to Combined Fleet forces 17 February 1944: Slightly damaged by the Operation Hailstone. 9 December.

Air-raided at Truk by TF 58.0620: Two 1,000 pound bombs dropped by planes from USS ENTERPRISE strike the ship; one forward of the bridge, the other on the very end of the fantail, damaging the crane.

24 September 1944: Air-raided at Coron: attacked by more than thirty planes from U.S. TF 38, and suffered two direct bomb hits at 0905. One of these was a large bomb hit on the stern catapult track. This set off an enormous explosion, fueled by aviation-gas fires, that completely blew out the shell on the port quarter, and the stern was kept from breaking loose only by the keel and plates on the starboard side. Capsized to port rapidly and at 0915 settled on her side to the bottom in position 11-59′N, 119-58′E. Despite the speed of the sinking, Minesweeper # 41 and naval transport T-102 rescued Captain Fujimaki, 25 officers, and most of the crew or they swam to shore, but 4 officers and 82 ratings were lost..

The Akitsushima  now lies on her side with the huge crane jib horizontal, covered in coral growths home to a large family of batfish. Due to the damage to the decking it is possible to explore the grearing internally “below decks.There are many area to explore with long corridors-the interior is cavernous in places and narrow in others

Line outs are advised! We were able on our second dive ref 3297 to enter the  superstructure and navigate all the way to the stern. A wreck which takes dozens of dives to fully appreciate-and an unusual wreck at that .If only the Emily flying boat was there it really would rank highly in world class dives..

One mounted  3-barrelled AA (anti-aircraft) gun  can be seen close to the flying boat tracks.

IRAKO MARU

30 May 1940:

Kobe. Laid down at Kawasaki’s Shipyard as transport No. 74. Classified as a refrigerated freighter, she was  9723 tons, 146.9 meters long  and 19 meters in the beam.Fitted with two steam turbine engines. 5 February 1941:Named IRAKO and provisionally attached to the Sasebo Naval District. 14 February 1941:Launched. 5 December 1941:
Completed and reattached to the Sasebo Naval District. Departs Kobe to embark food and supplies.

23 September 1944:
IRAKO anchors between Tangat and Lusong Island.

Busuanga Island. A convoy of at least 12 IJN auxiliary ships is dispersed in the coastal waters around the island, At 0855, Air Group 31’s fighter-bombers start their attack. They attack the ships in Coron Bay and the ships to the west first. Their first strike scores direct bomb hits in IRAKO’s midship section. Her bridge and superstructure are set ablaze. She begins to sink by the bow, but is beached. Later, IRAKO slips into the sea and sinks at the mouth of Coron Bay..

This is perhaps one of the best wrecks in Coron-the stern has 3 floors and  commands a dive of its own. This is a big wreck-147 mtrs long- almost upright sitting in 45 mtrs with the deck at 34 mtrs nitrox is a must, but her upper levels , bridge and masts(kingpost) can lean towards a curved profile, off gassing on the mast is a real treat-a myriad of tiny invertebrates keep you amused.

There are many corridors with accommodation blocks, storage, showers and latrines running off each Her engine room is huge,  and takes several dives to fully explore- A good light is essential..Much of the control equipment is intact

Although the identity of this wreck is almost certain a report by a  Co Webb  casts some doubt:
“Excerpts of the official 1955 USN chronology of all USN operations in WWII covering the Philippines for Sept-Nov 1944 gives some of the context of TF 38′s operations during the period. I note that it says Irako was both damaged and sunk in the strike on 24 September. The same source also says that Irako was damaged on 20 January 1944 by US Submarine Seadragon (SS-194) in 08°04′N, 152°40′E, Northwest of Truk.“