DARKNESS AND LIGHT IN TRUK LAGOON
05
Maru is a sombre and moving experience that
remains in one’s memory long after one leaves this
extraordinary place. She sits east of Tonoas Island
in an area thick with wrecks. Descending, the stern
mast becomes visible at almost 30 metres and by
the time one reaches the deck at 50 metres the
surrounding water is a very deep cerulean blue.
Heading deep into the cargo holds is an incredibly
eerie experience, as this area was jammed full of
soldiers. Many of the remains were removed and
returned to Japan, but these deep dark spaces
that push the depth gauge over 70 metres are still
the grave of hundreds of brave men.
Upon exiting the deepest spaces, divers often
pay their respects at a small shrine located atop
the bridge at 40 metres. A small Buddha statue
is surrounded by bones, numerous artefacts and
two anti-aircraft guns, still loaded and pointing
skywards. Returning up the mast provides a
stunning contrast to the gloom below, as the
sunlight reaches down just enough to enliven a
deep reef. Thick, colourful sponges and soft corals
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are abundant. Often large schools of jacks and
mackerel will keep divers company during their
long ascent back to the realm of light far above.
Fortunately for most divers, more than 20
spectacular wrecks are within recreational
diving depths. Perhaps the best is the Shinkoku
Maru. She is a huge tanker, over 150 metres long
and sitting upright with her propellers at 38
metres. A rare, mild current washes across this
part of the lagoon, which has turned the Shinkoku
Maru into a top reef dive as well as being a worldclass wreck.
A typical dive on Shinkoku Maru starts near the
propellers on a flat, sandy bottom with regular
sightings of rays and sharks. Divers penetrate
through the torpedo hole that sank this mighty
ship. In these dark, twisting engineering spaces
are ladders, pipes and catwalks that culminate in a
cavernous engine room that looks almost ready to
spring into life. Leaving this shadowy area where
over 80 men lost their lives, a short passage
takes divers out onto the stern superstructure.