Chuuk Lagoon · Micronesia · Wreck
Kiyosumi Maru
Torpedo launchers and a bicycle on an armed merchant ship
Photo: Motoki Kurabayashi · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kiyosumi Maru was built in 1934 as a luxurious transport ship and served the Japanese navy as an armed merchant ship until it sank in Chuuk Lagoon. At 137 m (450 ft) it is a large wreck that stays within 30 m, with torpedo launchers, a bicycle and good marine life.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Chuuk Lagoon and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The wreck spans 12 to 30 m (40 to 100 ft), the hull resting on the lagoon floor at 30 m. Its armament is still there to find, including torpedo launchers, along with a bicycle, and the hull carries good marine life.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Kiyosumi Maru
- Type
- Transport ship, later armed merchant ship
- Length
- 137 m (449 ft)
- Built
- 1934
- Cause
- Sunk by US dive bombers during Operation Hailstone while under repair
- Lies
- On the floor of Truk Lagoon at about 30 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.
Photos from Kiyosumi Maru
Motoki Kurabayashi · CC BY-SA 4.0
gratiartis · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Diving the wreck of Kiyosumi Maru - Truk Lagoon · Rod Macdonald on YouTube
Sources
- Commonly Visited Truk Dive Sites — Truk Odyssey
- Shipwreck Kiyosumi Maru — TracesOfWar
- Wrecks — Truk Stop Hotel
Photo credits
- A diver with pale fins swims along a coral-covered wreck hull in green-blue water. by Motoki Kurabayashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A wreck control panel with round glass gauges and valve wheels, crusted and lit by a torch. by Motoki Kurabayashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A gas mask with its corrugated hose lies in rust-brown sediment inside a wreck. by gratiartis, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
More dive sites in Chuuk Lagoon
A memorial monument on the deck of a deep, upright cruiser
Wreck
A swim through a bomber's fuselage from tail to cockpit
The sole surviving A5M Claude, stacked in a cargo hold
Bow and stern guns on a sunken Japanese destroyer
Shrimp and goby burrows in the sand under the propellers
Wreck
Soft and hard coral from a shallow mast to the stern
Wreck
Submarine periscopes still stacked in the holds
Trucks, a bulldozer and a tractor still parked in the hold
Similar dives elsewhere
Wreck
Hydravion et Goélette
Tahiti & Teahupo'o · French Polynesia
A Catalina seaplane and a wooden schooner side by side
Dilapidated barge at 24-27 m, no penetration
Wreck
Konanda Wreck
Port Vila & Efate · Vanuatu
An intact island trader sitting upright on sand
A wooden minesweeper reduced to her metal ribs