Chuuk Lagoon · Micronesia · Wreck
Yamagiri Maru
Artillery shells meant for the battleship Musashi
Photo: mattk1979 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Yamagiri Maru began in 1938 as a luxurious transport ship and ended as a Japanese military transport sunk in Chuuk Lagoon. Its hold still carries 18-inch artillery shells meant for the battleship Musashi, the main sight on this 133 m (437 ft) wreck.
Where it is and how deep
7.3833° N, 151.8333° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Dives on Yamagiri Maru run from about 18 m (60 ft) at the top of the wreck down to 37 m (120 ft). In the hold lie 18-inch diameter artillery shells for the battleship Musashi.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Yamagiri Maru
- Type
- Transport ship, later military transport
- Length
- 133 m (436 ft)
- Built
- 1938
- Sunk
- 1944
- Cause
- Sunk by US dive bombers during Operation Hailstone
- Lies
- On the floor of Truk Lagoon
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
FSM - Chuuk -- Diving the Yamagiri Maru · Tropical Sailing Life on YouTube
Sources
- Commonly Visited Truk Dive Sites — Truk Odyssey
- Shipwreck Yamagiri Maru — TracesOfWar
- Wrecks — Truk Stop Hotel
- Yamagiri Maru — Pacific Wrecks
- IJN Yamagiri Maru: Tabular Record of Movement — Combined Fleet
Photo credits
- One clownfish beside an orange anemone on a red and pale encrusted wreck surface. by mattk1979, CC BY-SA 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
A freighter so thick with lionfish it took their name
A 122-metre Clan Line steamer (400 feet) that burnt out at Vava'u in 1927
Rifles, ammunition and helmets still aboard an upright mystery ship
Following the mooring line down to the forward tower of an upright fleet oiler