Chuuk Lagoon · Micronesia · Wreck
Hoki Maru
Trucks, a bulldozer and a tractor still parked in the hold
Photo: montereydiver · CC BY 2.0
Hoki Maru is a 76 m (250 ft) Japanese cargo ship sunk in Chuuk Lagoon in February 1944. It is dived for the vehicles still in its hold, trucks, a bulldozer and a tractor, and for the shattered bow, on a profile that starts near 14 m and reaches 46 m.
Where it is and how deep
7.3500° N, 151.9333° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Dives on Hoki Maru span 14 to 46 m (45 to 150 ft), with the seabed at about 48 m. The hold is the draw: trucks, a bulldozer and a tractor still sit in it. Forward, the bow shows massive destruction.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Hoki Maru
- Type
- Cargo ship
- Length
- 76 m (249 ft)
- Sunk
- 1944
- Cause
- Sunk by US aircraft during Operation Hailstone
- Lies
- On the floor of Truk Lagoon at about 48 m
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Chuuk Lagoon: December to April is the dry season, driest from January to March; June to September brings the heaviest rain.
Dive videos
Hoki Maru. Truk Lagoon. · Max Gleeson's Shipwrecks of the World on YouTube
Sources
- Commonly Visited Truk Dive Sites — Truk Odyssey
- Shipwreck Hoki Maru — TracesOfWar
- Wrecks — Truk Stop Hotel
- IJN Hoki Maru: Tabular Record of Movement — Combined Fleet
Photo credits
- An old truck lit yellow by a torch sits in a dark wreck hold, its grille and curved fender coated in sediment. by montereydiver, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Submarine periscopes still stacked in the holds
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A Japanese cruiser submarine sunk at its anchorage
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