Malapascua · Philippines · Wreck
Japanese Shipwreck
A wreck shallow enough to be someone's first ever dive
Area photo: Petter Lindgren · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Japanese Shipwreck sits on a sandy bottom in 5 to 12 metres off Malapascua, shallow enough that it is used as the first dive of an Open Water course. That is its whole appeal: a training site where a diver's first ever dive is also a wreck dive, on a profile that stays inside the shallowest part of recreational limits.
Where it is and how deep
11.3430° N, 124.1104° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive covers a depth range of five to 12 metres on a sandy bottom, which is why it is used as the first open-water training dive of a course. Groups descend onto the sand beside the wreck rather than onto the structure, run whatever skills the dive calls for on the flat, and then swim the outside of the hull. Nothing about the profile pushes anyone: the shallow end is at 5 metres and the deepest part of the site is 12.
For certified divers it is a short, undemanding dive rather than a destination. The sand around the wreck silts if it is finned, so the usual discipline applies — stay off the bottom, keep behind rather than beside the group ahead, and leave the visibility intact for the students who will be working there.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Unidentified Japanese vessel
- Type
- Not identified in published sources
- Cause
- Not recorded in the available sources
- Lies
- On a sandy bottom in 5 to 12 metres
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Malapascua: Threshers visit Kimud Shoal all year. March to May is calmest and clearest; October to January brings rough seas, green water and the most cancelled crossings.
Sources
- Japanese Shipwreck - Scubago — Scubago/SSI
More dive sites in Malapascua
Wall
A small wall from 12 m onto black coral sand at 20 to 30 m
Reef
Protected reef off a northern islet, 4 m down to 20 m
Reef
A 3 m flat top and a slope to 17 m, used for courses
Reef
Mandarinfish mating in the coral at sunset
Muck & macro
Resident hairy frogfish a short ride from the island
Muck & macro
A dune-like sand slope for macro, down to about 28 m
Wall
A 12 to 14 m wall with ground running down to 28 m
Coral garden
A gentle coral slope from 5 to 20 m inside a protected area
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