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So we went to Truk… What’s is like?
 
Much has been written about Truk (now Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia). There are a number of excellent guides and historical references of various weights, all of which have much to offer. Getting back from a trip there in April 2002 I was asked “what’s it like?” by divers and non-divers alike. When I’d exhausted all the superlatives I was still faced with answering the question. Hopefully this brief article will help.
 
Getting There
Going to Chuuk for a European involves going halfway around the world. So which way to go? Following on from the events of September 11th 2001 we chose a route through the USA as having greater likelihood of security. To keep the costs down we flew from Schiphol to Atlanta to Los Angeles to Honolulu to Majuro to Kwajalein to Kosrae to Pohnpei to Chuuk. The return journey substituted San Francisco for LA and we took a few days break in Honolulu allowing us to visit Pearl Harbor. Others in our group chose to fly east instead of west and took in the delights of Guam and Bali.
 
Dive Operators
The group I was with virtually monopolised the liveaboard SS Thorfinn but there are several live-aboards each offering its own package and its own amenities. Thorfinn is a converted Norweigan whaler and one real plus was that after a visit to an engine room on one of the wrecks it was possible to try and figure out what that brass whotsit on the steam engine was by comparing it with Thorfinn's very own version. Although quite mobile during our week there all trips to wrecks were in one of four small aluminium boats and only a pair of boats visited a particular wreck so reducing congestion.
 
Diving
The operator of the SS Thorfinn, Capt. Lance Higgs and his Divemaster Dan, gave us a very clear picture of diving in Chuuk. Lance described the wrecks and then got onto the important bit - the nearest recompression chamber is a long, expensive and painful aeroplane flight away. He then went on to set our a few basic diving rules, stops were to be a minimum of 1 minute at 18m, 2 at 9m and 6 at 6m. We stuck to these rules but generally found our computers added a few more minutes as a result of not sticking exactly to the decompression plan they desired. The boat offers 5 dives a day, starting at 8am. Generally we dived 2 or 3 per day although some did more.
Nippo Maru
The first wreck we visited was the Nippo Maru This is a 107m, 3,763 gross tonnes freighter that sits upright but over to its port side in around 50m of water. Our small boat ran us to it very rapidly and after a brief from our guide we rolled into warm, clear water and dropped onto the top of the main superstructure at about 25m. From there the stern of the ship was clearly visible and we swooped down the starboard side towards a hold inspecting several howitzers on the deck before entering No.4 Hold which must once have been crammed with large saki bottles based on the numbers still in there. From a maximum depth of 46m we then went up and forward swimming along a passageway on the port side and on to No.3 Hold close to which a Japanese light tank lies. Moving further forward the chassis of a truck hangs over the port side just aft of the forecastle. There we spotted a small turtle but turned aft to inspect No.3 Hold before going to the bridge to look at the wheel and telegraph. By 10am I’d seen a tank, lorries, howitzers, telegraph, wheel and saki bottles all on a practically pristine wreck. And it was only day one!
Shinkoku Maru
Our second dive was on the Shinkoku Maru a 152m 10,020 tonne tanker a wreck we visited twice. The bow is the shallower end and the starboard side is now more a like a wall dive on a reef than a wreck dive. I have never seen such a profusion of coral growths. Entering the area under the bridge it is possible to visit the surgeons operating table now covered with an assortment of objects. Aft of this are a number of communal bathhouses, their tiles free from growth but the baths filled with silt. Moving further aft we came across the occasional pile of artefacts on the deck, The stern gun of this wreck is wreathed in coral and on the port side forward of it a large ‘A” frame shows how this vessel was able to refuel naval vessels at sea, including those that attacked Pearl Harbor. Unlike other vessels the engine-room is well aft and may be entered via the skylights. With the top of the bridge at 10m it is possible to do stops at 9 and 6m and still inspect the wreck.
 
This dive was worth a second visit and later in the week we returned to tour the stern and examine the aft engine room and the machinery for pumping fuel to other vessels. Had a good look around in the stern area below the gun finding stores of heavy line.
Amigasan Maru
Day two took us to the Amigasan Maru a 137m long 7,621 tonne freighter. The wreck has a large port list and is deep, around 60m to the seabed. Our sole visit to it took us to the starboard side just forward of the bridge. With the rest of the group firmly ensconced in the holds we dropped across the deck to the port rail at 50m. Turning aft into the mid-ships superstructure presented us with an incredible view aft that didn’t quite reveal the stern. We then ascended through the bridge area before swimming forward and into No.2 Hold and its oil drums, staff cars and a large torpedo hole on the starboard side. We then swam though to No.1 Hold and across the forecastle, with its obligatory bow gun. Its worth swimming those extra few yards beyond the bow just to look back at it before following the curve of the starboard side back to the torpedo hole and in our case the shot.
Rio de Janeiro Maru
The Rio de Janeiro Maru is a 141m long, 9,627 tonnes gross cargo vessel/freighter which the Japanese had converted from a luxury passenger liner. It lies on its starboard side in about 33m. Our dive once again started with the Chuukese guides seemingly picking the wreck site at random but we hit the bridge and swam aft along spacious accessways until we were at the funnel. Aft of that skylights allowed us to enter the engine-room a huge dark space of ladders, gantries and pipework. We exited via the same route and swam aft along the midships line inspecting the forward stern hold and then continuing to the stern gun. A little further on is the stern rudder and screw. We then ascended to the port rail and swam forward to the bridge. This brought the biggest surprise, forward of the bridge the ship had essentially collapsed. Several reasons were put forward for this including the age of the wreck and the habit of dive operators of mooring on the wreck which has accelerated the break up of the vessel. As we ascended the water was filled with a strange roaring noise. An anxious glance at the surface showed us it wasn’t a boat but in fact a heavy tropical downpour. We finished our stops and added a few more until the rain eased. Our guides didn’t appreciate our attempts to stay out of the rain.
Emily Flying Boat
This was our third dive of the day and is a slow amble around a large plane which lies upside down in about 16m. Its not a big dive but all the bits are there and are easily recognisable. Once the larger sections, wings, engines, fuselage have been examined its worthwhile taking a look at a collection of instruments that lie just to the port side of the stern.
South Pass Reef
On our third day we had agreed to pay a visit to the reefs of the south pass. This would allow Thorfinn to steam out to meet a tanker outside the reef. The weather, which had been variable provided us with a somewhat gloomy start and as we watched Thorfinn vanish the first raindrops started to fall. We quickly dropped off our lunch and it's cooks on a very small island and ran the short distance to our dive site. Now I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting much from a scenic dive in one of the world’s top wreck diving sites. So I rolled over the side of our aluminium boat, sorted myself out, exchanged OKs with my buddy and started to descend. At 5m I gasped as I looked down through phenomenally clear water and saw three other divers on the bottom at 30m. The reef isn’t often visited and the condition of the hard corals, the number of fish and the presence of sharks which clearly hadn’t seen divers before made it a truly memorable dive.
 
Next was lunch. We returned to our island where a blue tarpaulin had been stretched between some small trees and bamboo poles while a valiant attempt was made to cook lunch for us. The tarpaulin rapidly flooded and various branches and ropes were added to improve it. After a couple of hours we were glad to get back in the water. The second dive was as memorable as the first. We saw fewer sharks, but they were larger and thankfully further away. The highlight was a large eagle ray that we spotted hanging in gulley at the top of the reef apparently just enjoying the feeling of flying in the current. Then it wheeled slowly away along the edge, occasionally flipping into a head down, tail up posture that exposed its entire underside.
Sankisan Maru
The Sankisan Maru was a 112m long, 4,776 tonne freighter that sank following a huge explosion that essentially destroyed the stern. The foremast is very close to the surface and is covered in corals which makes it ideal for deco stops. The forward holds, the only ones left, contain aircraft radial engines, several trucks; now little more than chassis, wheels and engine; aeroplane wings and massive numbers of bullets some still in boxes. Lots of other ordnance lies around the holds. As with all things in Chuuk Lagoon these should be left where they are as it is both illegal and highly dangerous to lift them. On the deck alongside No.1 hold are more trucks and the bow has a gun. The deck on the forecastle is strangely clean of coral growth. The forecastle is quite open and the port side has a hole which allows access to storage areas. The area aft of the bridge is worth a visit as it gives the diver an idea of how large an explosion occurred, with the area aft of the bridge completely smashed and collapsed.
Unkai Maru
The Unkai Maru is a 101m 3,188 tonne freighter sitting upright in about 40m. It was here I first encountered some of those human remains I’d heard so much about. We descended onto the forward part of the wreck and across the holds to the forecastle. From there I swam around the bow gun on the starboard side and saw one of the collections of artefacts that have been collected over the years. I was just about to take a photograph when I realised that there was a human skull perched on top the pots and pans, carefully put on display by our guide. Realising that this man had probably been younger than I was and had died a sudden and violent death nearly sixty years ago was quite sobering. Continuing aft the engine room is relatively easy to enter and the surprise of reading english characters through the smoke stained glass on the dials on this Japanese vessel was only dispelled when I realised that this ship had started its life in Glasgow. We took a quick look at the stern and the funnel which lies on its side. From there it was an easy swim back to the foremast and a long steady deco’ stop.
Yamagiri Maru
The Yamagiri Maru is a 139m long, 3,763 gross tonnes freighter that lies with a considerable list to port. The real highlight of this dive are the huge naval shells in the stern holds reputedly ready for delivery to the Japanese super-battleships ‘Yamato’ and ‘Musahi’ and measuring an incredible 18 inches in diameter. They have got to be amongst the most menacing objects I’ve ever seen underwater. From the holds we then moved forward entering the engine-room, which with the vessel on its side proved quite a confusing space and a brief sight of the skull of another Japanese sailor smoke blackened and apparently jammed between two pipes. Once back outside we passed over the funnel, a large ‘Y’ in a circle still proclaming the shipping line. From there it was over the bridge and across into No.3 Hold into which light spilled through a large hole in the hull. This hole looks, from the outside and the inside, like something a Hollywood special effects man might design, lots of jagged, curved metal around an oval hole. From the hold we then went forward to the bow and the starboard anchor chain which, in places, looks as though it is held together more by corals than iron.
Hoki Maru
The Hoki Maru is the remains of a 137m freighter sitting upright.with everything forward of the bridge missing and the bridge itself smashed to pieces. The aft hold contains several John Deere bulldozers and oil drums. Dropping underneath the bulldozers, which is an experience in itself, you can exit the hold through a torpedo hole From there we ascended and crossed over the deck and then aft and descended to look at the starboard prop and the rudder before ascending onto the sterncastle. Swam forward over the holds and onto the damage area amidships and then turned back to ascend steadily to the stern mast. As we ascended three or four sharks swam over the wreck below us.
Fujikawa Maru
The Fujikwa Maru is a 132m, 6,938 tonne armed aircraft ferry sitting upright. We arrived on the wreck amidships by two memorial plaques and swam over edge of bridge and forward and down into No.3 Hold. Dropped past hatch cover beams and down to second tween deck. Almost immediately saw one of several Mitsubishi Zero fighters. Swam around them looking at the cockpit instruments and controls. Exited and went into No.1 Hold which is full of aircraft spares such as propellor blades, fuel tanks, nose cones, wheels and on one side a torpedo. Then exited to look at the superb bow gun which is 6 inch British made (in 1899), formerly fitted to a Japanese warship. On the very bow there is a telegraph for manoeuvring purposes. We then swam aft and down the portside before turning aft behind the bridge and then forward to find our way into the engine-room. With our dive time building up we didn’t go too deep but stopped just above the massive diesel engine. We exited by the same route and ascended to the top of the midships superstructure. Much of the bridge appears to have gone but the flying bridge on the port side is at about 10m so it is possible to do a first stop just above that and still examine the ship.
 
This wreck is superb and deserved a second visit. For us this was a night dive. The weather wasn’t great and I have no idea how the guides found a buoy that they’d attached during daylight but find it they did. With the small boat bobbing and rolling it was a pleasure to enter the water and descend surrounded by the natural phosphoresence that we continued to play with throughout the dive. Having visited the engine room at the end of the last dive we started by visiting it and found ourselves in far clearer vis’ although it hadn’t exactly been poor during daylight. Then we exited and went forward on the starboard side and along the starboard rail to bow and taking a long look around the bow gun with lots of life around it especially some very large and active black sea-urchins. Swam back over holds to shot on port side and deco’d while watching the light show from the other divers around the wreck.
Aikoku Maru
The Aikoku Maru was once a 150m long, 10,438 tonne freighter which was serving as a troop ship when the Americans took the Marshall Islands and the ship was sent to Chuuk. Today nothing exists forward of the funnel except debris. This is a deep wreck with the top of the stern at over 50m. We got to the wreck aft of the collapsed funnel, and down to No.3 Hold. We then swam through the two large stern derricks to the stern gun which still points towards the sky.We then swam back a little shallower to the anti-aircraft gun on the port side aft of the bridge and to another memorial in the form of a seated figure surrounded by fragments of skulls and long bones.
Kansho Maru
The Kansho Maru is a 114m, 4,861 tonne freighter sitting upright. Once again our guides proved that the Chuukese could find a black cat in a coal hole by casting in their line and snagging the buoy. The line led us to mid-ships and we set off forward finding a large spare anchor on the bow. Had a look at the now obligatory bow gun and a very elegant bow. Set off aft over holds to steps leading up to level of No.3 Hold which we visited briefly. Inspected the baths and the radio equipment racks. Ascended around large funnel and looked down into the engine room through the skylights just aft of it.
San Francisco Maru
The San Francisco Maru is a 118m, 5,864 tonne freighter and is one of the wrecks of of Chuuk Lagoon. This is a deep wreck with depths of over 60m possible. Our dive on this wreck was very carefully planned with a visit to the light armoured tanks ahead of the bridge and the tanker trucks and aero engines in No.2 Hold. No.1 Hold contains hemispherical beach mines and artillery shells. Then swam forward to the bow gun at around 50m and then we turned aft and ascended up the forward mast to the shot for a series of relaxed deco’ stops.
IJN Futagami
The IJN Futagami is a small fleet salvage tug about 40m long and 625 tonnes. It lies on an incline off a small reef with a port list. The bridge has its telegraphs in place and access to the engine room is possible although a bit of a squeeze although some of the dials are more easy to get to. The tug carries salvage hoses in the stern and the port prop lies close to the reef which allowed us to finish our trip to Chuuk with a long shallow deco’ stop.
 
Bow Telegraph Fujikawa Maru