Subic Bay · Philippines · Wreck
SS Oryoku Maru (The Hellship)
A war-grave hellship 400 m off Alava Pier
The Oryoku Maru is Subic Bay's most sobering site: a Japanese transport attacked and sunk 400–500 m off Alava Pier on 15 December 1944 while carrying 1,619 Allied prisoners of war. Post-war demolitions reduced her to tangled wreckage in 20–27 m, and her dive status is contested — some resident operators guide it, one source calls it permanently closed as a war grave.
Where it is and how deep
14.8120° N, 120.2790° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
If you do dive it, expect a dive shaped by history rather than structure. Demolitions carried out to protect passing shipping left the Oryoku Maru as mostly tangled wreckage spread across the bottom at 20–27 m, so the dive is a slow, guided pass over broken steel rather than a tour of an intact hull. It lies only 400–500 m off Alava Pier, close to the outflow of the Kalaklan River, and it often has the worst visibility of all the bay's wrecks.
This is a documented war grave, where prisoners of war died in large numbers, and it is dived as one: stay off and above the wreckage, take nothing, and do not attempt to get inside. Operators who guide it rate it for Advanced Open Water and experienced divers, and the low light and silt reward careful buoyancy and an unhurried pace. Many divers come for the history alone, and the site asks to be treated accordingly.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Oryoku Maru
- Type
- Troop transport (POW hellship)
- Sunk
- 1944
- Cause
- Attacked and sunk by US aircraft on 15 December 1944 while carrying Allied prisoners of war
- Lies
- Tangled, demolished wreckage 400–500 m off Alava Pier in 20–27 m
On 15 December 1944 the Oryoku Maru, carrying 1,619 Allied prisoners of war from Manila, was attacked less than half a kilometre off Alava Pier and sank. The ship became infamous through the war-crimes testimonies of the prisoners transported aboard her, and she is remembered as a hellship and documented war grave. After the war, demolitions to protect passing shipping reduced the hull to the tangled wreckage divers see today.
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 | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Subic Bay: November–May dry season is clearest, best February–May; the July–September monsoon cuts inner-bay visibility and cancels rough days.
Know before you go
- Visibility is often the poorest of the bay's wrecks because of the nearby Kalaklan River outflow — stay close to your guide and keep careful buoyancy over the tangled steel.
Questions divers ask
Can you dive the Oryoku Maru?+
It is contested. One dive guide states the wreck is permanently closed to diving as a war grave, while resident operators and Wikivoyage list it as a guided dive in 20–27 m. Ask locally before planning on it, and if you do dive it, treat it as a war grave — no penetration, take nothing.
Sources
- Subic Bay Wreck Diving Sites | Maps, History and Dive Information — Scuba Tech Philippines
- SS Oryoku Maru (The Hellship) — Camayan Divers
- Olongapo (Wikivoyage) — Area wrecks list — Wikivoyage
- Subic Bay — Wikipedia
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