Tenggol Island · Malaysia · Wreck
Fisherman Wreck
A 20 m fishing boat sitting upright in 18 m, sized for a first wreck
The Fisherman Wreck is a 20 m fishing boat that sank upright off Tenggol Island and now sits in up to 18 m of water. Its small size and modest depth make it a natural first wreck: the whole boat can be circled in one dive and there is no need to go deep to see it. The published description recommends it particularly for divers new to wreck diving.
Where it is and how deep
4.8076° N, 103.6759° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You drop from the boat onto or beside the wreck, which sits upright on the bottom in a maximum of 18 m. At 20 m long the hull is small enough to take in as a whole from a short way off, so the usual plan is a slow circuit of the outside first: along one side, round the stern, back up the other side to the bow, staying at deck level or just above it so that the deepest part of the dive is over early.
With the outside done there is time for a second, closer pass over the deck, looking into the spaces rather than entering them; the published description gives no penetration route, so plan it as an exterior tour. The dive finishes above the wreck with the ascent to the safety stop beside the boat or up the line. The cause and date of the sinking, and the marine life on the wreck, are not recorded in the published description.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Fisherman Wreck (unnamed fishing boat)
- Type
- Fishing boat
- Length
- 20 m (66 ft)
- Cause
- Not published; the boat sank and settled upright
- Lies
- Upright on the bottom in up to 18 m of water off Tenggol Island
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Tenggol Island: The island is closed for the northeast monsoon from November to the end of February; whale sharks are logged mostly from August to October, with a few in May.
Questions divers ask
Is the Fisherman Wreck a good first wreck?+
Yes. The published description recommends it particularly for divers new to wreck diving: the boat is 20 m long, sits upright and lies in no more than 18 m, within Open Water depth limits, and no penetration is described.
Sources
- Fisherman Wreck - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Tenggol Island
Pinnacle
Two submerged hillsides from 35 m up to 12 m, dived only at slack tide
Coral garden
Coral-covered slopes to about 18 m, one of the island's most popular sites
Cave & cavern
Cavern and swim-throughs between 8 and 25 m on the island's northeast side
Reef
Flat reef in a bay at the northwest tip, 10 to 18 m, also snorkelled
Reef
Gentle 9 to 25 m slope with a pinnacle further out
Wall
A stone wall from 5 m to beyond 30 m, with nudibranchs and sea slugs for macro lenses
Wall
Drift past a rock at about 17 m to where the seabed falls away into the blue
Pinnacle
Pinnacle and boulder terrain to about 35 m on the middle of the three Tokongs
Similar dives elsewhere
44.9 m navy attack craft, mast at 13 m, seabed at 23 m
A 32 m patrol vessel scuttled as a reef, top at 16 m
Three police boats sunk in 2012 between 14 and 19 m
Six impounded fishing boats sunk together at 23 m