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A school of silver barracuda with dark-barred flanks swimming in open blue water — New Ireland & Kavieng

New Ireland & Kavieng · Papua New Guinea · Wreck

Deep Pete

A wartime Japanese floatplane ringed by schooling batfish and snapper

Area photo: Micha Baum · CC BY-SA 4.0

Deep Pete is a Japanese reconnaissance floatplane lying at 40 m near Nusa Island, off Kavieng. It is one of three such planes found in the area, and the wreck draws schools of batfish, barracuda, jacks, soldierfish and snapper as well as little critters.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Deep Pete: typical dive to 40 m (to 130 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit40 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

2.5739° S, 150.7786° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The plane rests at 40 m, so bottom time is short and the dive is briefer than the shallower sites around Kavieng. Schools of batfish, barracuda, jacks, soldierfish and snapper hang around the wreck, and the airframe itself holds small critters.

The wreck

Vessel
Deep Pete
Type
Japanese reconnaissance floatplane
Cause
Not recorded
Lies
On the bottom at 40 m near Nusa Island

Marine life and season

  • Barracuda
  • Trevally & jacks
  • Reef fish swarms
  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Deep Pete
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairFairFairPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeFairFair

Season follows New Ireland & Kavieng: The New Hanover trips run from May to October; rain from late December to March and North Pacific swell from November to April mark the rest of the year.

Dive videos

Deep Pete WW2 Sunken Japanese Float Plane - Kavieng Papua New Guinea · Sailing Catamaran Diving Adventures on YouTube

Sources

  1. Dive Sites | Lissenung Island Resort — Lissenung Island Resort
  2. Wrecks – Scuba Ventures Kavieng — Scuba Ventures Kavieng
  3. OpenStreetMap geocoding — OpenStreetMap

More dive sites in New Ireland & Kavieng

Channel & pass

Albatross Passage

Eagle rays and grey reef sharks crowding the channel as the tide floods in

12–30 mintermediate

Wall

Bermuda Drop

A coral slope that suddenly turns into a sheer drop out of sight

3–25 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Echuca Patch

An isolated ocean ridge whose point pulls in barracuda and jacks

12–31 m · max 45 madvanced

Coral garden

Ral Island

Frogfish, seahorses and the odd mimic octopus on the sandy slope west of the island

5–15 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

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28–35 m · max 43 madvanced

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26–40 madvanced

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Akitsushima Wreck

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22–35 m · max 36 madvanced

Wreck

Cement Wreck

Labuan & Brunei Wrecks · Malaysia

MV Tung Hwang: a 92 m freighter standing upright off Labuan from 8 m to 32 m

8–32 mintermediate