Chuuk Lagoon · Micronesia · Wreck
Kensho Maru
An engine room lit through an eight-piece skylight
Kensho Maru is a 116 m passenger cargo ship sitting upright in Chuuk Lagoon, its deck sloping from the bow at 27 m to the stern at 40 m. Divers come for its engine room, among the finest in the lagoon and a favourite with photographers, and for swim-throughs of the accommodation block.
Also known as Kanshu Maru, Kansho Maru, Kensho.
Where it is and how deep
7.3833° N, 151.8500° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The ship sits upright on a slope, the depth increasing from the bow at 27 m (90 ft) to the stern at 40 m (130 ft). Kingposts and air scoops still stand, covered in growth, and several kinds of anemone host resident clownfish.
At deck level the accommodation block offers swim-throughs with further openings into the engine room, which has an eight-piece skylight and suits camera work. The crew mess, the galley and the remains of the pilot house with its telegraph follow, and a hole at the stern leads to the steering room.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Kensho Maru
- Type
- Passenger cargo ship
- Length
- 116 m (381 ft)
- Built
- 1938
- Sunk
- 1944
- Cause
- Attacked by aircraft from USS Enterprise, Monterey and Bunker Hill; a torpedo hit amidships
- Lies
- Upright, sloping from the bow at 27 m to the stern at 40 m
Built in 1938, Kensho Maru was attacked on 18 February 1944, the second day of the raid on Truk, by aircraft from USS Enterprise, USS Monterey and USS Bunker Hill; during one strike a torpedo was reported to hit her amidships. The Cousteau expedition found the wreck in 1969, but it was then forgotten until divers re-discovered it in the 1980s.
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.
Know before you go
- Penetration at the lower levels can be quite tight, with silt inside.
Photos from Kensho Maru
gratiartis · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Chuuk Dive Sites: Kensho Maru · Random Adventure & Interest on YouTube
Sources
- Kensho Maru — Dive3D.eu
- Kensho Maru — wrecksandreefs.com
- Commonly Visited Truk Dive Sites — Truk Odyssey
- Wrecks — Truk Stop Hotel
- IJN Kensho Maru: Tabular Record of Movement — Combined Fleet
Photo credits
- A round engine order telegraph encrusted with red and orange growth, with small green algae on top, in dark water. by Dr. Dwayne Meadows, NOAA/NMFS/OPR., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Two orange clownfish among the pale tentacles of a large anemone on a reef-covered wreck. by gratiartis, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
More dive sites in Chuuk Lagoon
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Soft and hard coral from a shallow mast to the stern
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Submarine periscopes still stacked in the holds
Trucks, a bulldozer and a tractor still parked in the hold
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